SUWANNEE TOURISM
Visit Suwannee
By Hayli Zuccola
Suwannee County Economic and Tourist Development
People who live and work in Suwannee County are already privy to the area ’ s charismatic charm , natural wonders and unique features that make the county great and the role of the Suwannee County Tourist Development office is to encourage those outside the county lines to experience all these wonderful qualities for themselves .
“ I think there are a lot of things that visitors don ’ t realize are here , but a lot of things too that residents know are here and we have a tendency to take them for granted because it ’ s in our backyard when we really should be enjoying them ,” said Charissa Setzer , who is the Marketing Coordinator for the Suwannee County Tourist Development .
Collaborating and partnering with brands like VISIT Florida and smaller organizations like Natural North Florida , which is a regional tourism group comprised of 14 counties that combine their resources to market their smaller regions toward travelers , Tourist Development is in place to market Suwannee County as a vacation destination , which the team has accomplished through distributing brochures , developing a website with area information , a monthly blog and creating different campaigns .
Their latest project took a dive – literally – into the local springs and underwater cave systems that have become popular with travelers all around the world .
“ We ’ ve been down to Peacock Springs down where the caverns are . People travel from all over the world to come to dive those caves and every – and I ’ m not exaggerating – every single time
we ’ ve been down there we have met someone from outside this country – from France , from Great Britain , from Mexico , from Canada , from Nova Scotia , from Switzerland . We also meet people from California and North Carolina and South Carolina , but that place draws people from all over the world – all over the world – that come here to Suwannee County ,” Setzer said .
In addition to creating a video documenting this experience and more , which VISIT Florida will help disperse to a wider audience , Setzer and the Tourist department are also working on creating a springs-themed trail guide to encourage both locals and visitors to experience and enjoy Suwannee County ’ s natural beauty .
Whether it ’ s promoting the springs , local businesses or events , tourism is beneficial to the community as a whole – especially financially as each household in Suwannee County pays $ 515 less in taxes due to tourist spending . Not only does tourism spending reduce taxes for locals , but it also funds the Tourist Development office , which in turn continues to promote the county and give back through event sponsorships .
Flourishing tourism in turn promotes economic development to bring in new businesses and more growth , which is where the Economic Development office comes in to play . Busier than ever , the Economic
90 SUWANNEE CHAMBER IMPACT | 2023-2024