PANAMA CITY BEACH ― For Griff Griffitts, there’s no denying the Gulf Coast Jam has a massive economical impact on the Beach.
As president and CEO of Visit Panama City Beach, Griffitts noted the annual event is so important to the area that the Bay County Tourist Development Council has an agreement with Gulf Coast Jam organizers to pay $500,000 a year for marketing. This is part of a five-year agreement that is slated to run until about 2030.
“Overall, I think it’s a successful event as far as exposure for our community,” Griffitts said. “It does its job. It brings heads in beds. … There’s a ton of exposure. A ton of people get to see our beach in a different light and also enjoy some good music while they’re here.”
The money paid to the Gulf Coast Jam comes from bed-tax collections. Bed taxes, or tourist development taxes, are lodging fees placed on short-term visitors. These collections are largely influenced each year by the thousands of tourists drawn to the area by the concert.
“If you’ve got someone staying in a hotel, they’re typically eating at a restaurant and shopping at a store,” Griffitts said. “The TDC’s job is to promote and advertise the area so we draw more people to our destination.
It should be noted that the TDC has a decently long history of helping support Gulf Coast Jam marketing efforts. Prior to the newer sponsorship, the group paid organizers approximately $375,000 a year, an agreement Rendy Lovelady, executive producer of the event, said was in place for about a decade.
The Gulf Coast Jam also must give proof of how every dollar is spent.
“Part of our slogan is ‘come for the music and stay for the beach,'” Lovelady said. “It’s marketing dollars to sell the beach, to sell heads in beds and to sell country music. … Every year, we have to turn in a complete audit on every dime we spent, where it went, what its value was − the whole nine yards.”
Lovelady has said he thinks Post Malone’s performance at the 2026 Gulf Coast Jam was the best in the event’s history. Malone, who headlined the final night of the event, was among a stacked lineup that boasted performances from other headliners: Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton and Riley Green.
The four-night country music festival was held May 28-31 at Frank Brown Park in Panama City Beach. Officials said nightly attendance was about 25,000 people, meaning combined attendance was about 100,000.
Lovelady noted the Gulf Coast Jam last year had an economic impact of about $30 million. This means the area saw a $30 million spike in local spending directly tied to when the event occurred.
He and Griffitts agree funds paid to the Gulf Coast Jam each year have proved to be well spent.
“I think the TDC is a great partner,” Lovelady said. “Marketing the beach is what we do. People don’t come just for a one-day show. They come and they rent a condo, or they rent a hotel room. The average stay is five days.”
“(It brings) exposure that truly we couldn’t afford to pay for if we wanted to,” Griffitts said.
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County TDC pays Gulf Coast Jam $500,000 a year for marketing
Reporting by Nathan Cobb, Panama City News Herald / The News Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nathan Cobb, Panama City News Herald | USA TODAY Network
