Walton County Tourism Earns Top Honors at Florida Tourism Industry Awards

Summary

Walton County Tourism won two Flagler Awards at the Florida Governor's Conference on Tourism awards event held Sept. 10, 2026, in West Palm Beach. The organization received a Henry Award in Digital Advertising for its campaign called The Precision Pivot: A High-Yield Direct Booking Strategy to Combat Supply Oversaturation, and a Silver Award in Travel Trade, Meetings & B2B Marketing for The 'Forever' Guide Redesign, a resource promoting South Walton for weddings. Tourism director Matt Algarin said the honors reflect data-driven efforts to responsibly promote the county and support local tourism partners, while marketing director Kelli Carter credited the team's passion for telling South Walton's story. The Flagler Awards, now in their 26th year, drew almost 300 entries statewide, judged by a panel of 14 on creativity, innovation, production quality and effectiveness, with top entries earning Bronze, Silver or Henry honors.