Amy Lukasik, Flagler County tourism staff lead, updated the Tourist Development Council on visitor behavior data, recent marketing, strategic‑planning work and the Eco Discovery Center funding request on Jan. 15.

Lukasik described Arrivalist cell‑phone data used by the tourism office to track trips, overnight length and points of interest. She said average overnight length of stay increased to 2.9 nights in FY24 (a 5 percent rise from the prior year) and that 27 percent of overnight stays lasted four nights or more. Top origin states included Florida, Georgia and New York, and California showed continued growth as an out‑of‑state origin. Lukasik said downtown Flagler Beach was the most visited point of interest for out‑of‑state visitors and that 16th Street Beach (Old Salt Park) was the county’s top beach access point for visitors.

On marketing, Courtney (marketing staff) summarized fall and holiday campaigns, highlighted top blog posts (Thanksgiving roundups and Santa/holiday boat parade features) and listed upcoming print and digital placements, including a full‑page ad in Visit Florida’s 2025 guide and placements in regional magazines and digital e‑newsletters.

Lukasik said the county has put money in the FY25 budget for a tourism master plan and sustainability plan, which would be a longer‑range (10‑year) physical and development blueprint; the strategic plan would remain the shorter‑term, three‑year operations guide. She said the county intends to issue an RFP to hire consultants for a combined master/sustainability plan and that the tourism office has drafted much of the RFP scope.

On the Eco Discovery Center, Lukasik said the county submitted a legislative funding request seeking $3,000,000 in state funds; she said the project has a local match of $10,300,000. She also said the county is running an RFQ for vendors and will later run an RFP and a selection committee for the Eco Center design and operations.

Why it matters: Arrival and marketing data guide where TDC funds are spent; a tourism master plan and Eco Discovery Center would shape long‑term destination development and capital requests to state funders.