Volusia’s beach pass revenue growing
Driving on the beaches of Volusia County is a tradition Kathy and Tim Morgan have shared since the 1970s, when they first started vacationing here from Tennessee shortly after their marriage.
Nothing beats the convenience of being able to park next to the ocean, open the latch of the SUV, and plop down chairs and coolers without a long trek — it’s even nicer as they’ve grown older, they said. This summer though, the married couple learned before entering the World’s Most Famous Beach that tradition and convenience now would come at a higher price.
The Volusia County Council last year approved doubling the cost of daily beach passes.
Intended to generate the additional revenue necessary to improve customer service at its beaches, the new $20 fee mostly targeted out-of-town beachgoers. Residents, for just $5 more, could buy an annual pass.
Non-residents have to pay $100 for the same annual pass, but that was a worthwhile investment for the Morgans, who planned to come back more than once from the condo they rent down the street.
“It was less expensive; we knew we were coming back again,” Kathy Morgan said. “It’s a little steep, but if you’re coming down for a week” you’re better off.
They’re not alone in making that decision.
Ahead of what’s expected to be a busy Labor Day weekend, which marks an unofficial end to the summer beach season, sales of daily beach passes are significantly down from the past two years. But the sale of annual passes, both to residents and visitors like the Morgans, have more than offset that decline.
Through July, the county sold 161,110 daily passes, roughly a 50 percent decline from the same time frame in 2017 and 2016.
Yet total revenues from beach pass sales through July stood at more than $4.8 million — an 11 percent increase over the nearly $4.4 million over the same period last year.
The reasons for the increase are twofold.
First, even though daily pass sales are down, the higher prices for the passes nearly makes up for the losses.
Revenues last year from daily passes were about $3.26 million through July when the passes were $10 apiece.
At $20 apiece this year, revenues reached $3.22 million over the same time span.
The biggest difference, however, comes in annual pass sales, which are up in all categories, especially for non-residents.
The county sold $177,000 worth of annual passes to non-residents through July last year.
This year, the total is more than three times higher at $550,000.
And that’s despite all of the inclement weather that washed out much of April and May and the soft sand that’s limited which cars can access portions of the beach.
That’s a sight that the Morgans have never encountered either in their four decades visiting Or-
“I’ve only had like three or four complaints about the (daily pass) cost This was by design. What we are doing is giving residents more access and a better value.” Volusia County Chair Ed Kelley
mond Beach.
As they maneuvered their white Toyota SUV through the sand for the first time this summer, they thought the journey seemed a little more sluggish than normal.
Other cars around them have not been as fortunate to make it through.
“I’ve never seen so many cars get stuck,” Kathy Morgan said.
The thicker red sand has forced the county to put up “four wheel drive only” signs at several beach ramps north of International Speedway Boulevard.
Beachgoers can also anticipate intermittent or lengthy closures of the vehicle access ramps around midday during the Labor Day weekend because of high tide.
They can also anticipate more beach ramps being open — including four for pass-holders only — and improved efforts to combat beach littering.
That’s what council members hoped to see when they voted to raise the daily beach pass fee in October. It’s working, said Councilwoman Billie Wheeler, who represents Daytona Beach.
“It’s good for the residents of Volusia County,” she said. “I think it’s working to serve the citizens much better. The revenue is going right back into helping them enjoy the beach.”
County Chair Ed Kelley, who first suggested ways to speed up beach access after experiencing long waits at a tollbooth, agreed that it’s been successful thus far.
Pass-holder only ramps are now open at River Beach Drive in Ormond Beach, Zelda Boulevard in Daytona Beach, El Portal Street in Daytona Beach Shores, and Crawford Road in New Smyrna Beach, which has helped ease back-ups at Flagler Avenue.
Kelley also notes that the county’s new off-beach parking lots are always full.
“I’ve only had like three or four complaints about the (daily pass) cost,” he said, adding that he’s not surprised it’s resulted in more people buying annual passes. “This was by design. What we are doing is giving residents more access and a better value.”