From the desk of C. Jones Hooks

Executive Director
Jekyll Island - State Park Authority

It is a pleasure for me to share the latest information from the Jekyll Island Authority with you, our vested homeowners and visitors.

JEKYLL ISLAND VISITATION ANALYSIS:
The Jekyll Island Visitation Analysis shared at the Sept. 15 board meeting and produced by an independent research firm, Bleakly and Associates, should be extremely helpful as we continue to lay the ground work for our Island’s future success. The report shows that island visitation peaked in the 1988-1989 time period, when we saw approximately 2.1 million guests visit Jekyll Island. Unfortunately since that time, we have seen a steady decline in visitation. Last year only 1.49 million visitors came to Jekyll Island. In order to accomplish our mission of trustworthy stewardship and generation of revenues, the analysis shows that we will need to increase tourism and visitation. Because Jekyll Island is a self-funded entity, the analysis provides a wake-up call to the importance for the Jekyll Island Authority to increase visitation so that the costs to care for the island are manageable. As you’re aware in the Jekyll Island Club Historic Landmark District alone, we have over $30 million in preservation needs. The good news is that by increasing visitation by only 21% over 1988-1989 levels, the island can finance operations and improve our public facilities. Jekyll Island will then remain an affordable and attractive place for all Georgians to enjoy. Further, the forecasting model supports how visitation can increase with limited, low-density redevelopment of existing sites that affect only 6% of the island. This supports our approach of balance between redevelopment and conservation/preservation activities. It was also interesting that the Bleakly report found revenue increases to the Jekyll Island Authority via public/private partner lease agreements are key to funding the needed infrastructure, as well as improvements to public amenities like golf courses, beach management and more.

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:

• Annual visitation to the island has been declining at a 2.6% annual rate since 2002 and is down roughly 23% since 1988-1989.
• When adjusted for inflation, JIA revenues have declined at a 2.3% annual rate since 2002
• Visitation can increase with limited, low density redevelopment and development.
• Total development needed to support visitation and JIA income projections over the next 15 years represents a net addition of roughly 1000 lodging units, 400 dwelling units, and 25,000 commercial square feet over levels that existed 20 years ago.
• Jekyll Island has approximately 4226 acres and by law, 65% must remain undeveloped.
• Of the remaining 35%, only 256 acres or 6% of the Island is directly impacted. Most of this small area is already development with existing hotels and the convention center.

Bleakly and Associates’ work is comprehensive. A public in-depth presentation will be offered Sept. 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend!

JEKYLL ISLAND DESIGN GUIDELINES: Another important policy initiative related to Jekyll Island Revitalization is the Jekyll Island Design Guidelines. While already put into practical use, the Design Guidelines dictate the architectural design, height, scale and density of all new construction. The Design Guidelines were developed with the Jekyll Island Authority by Cooper Carry, a leader in the field of connective architecture. Since the “First Reading”, we have received lots of input and public comments. The Jekyll Island Authority Board will consider adoption of the Design Guidelines at its October 20th meeting.

OTHER NEWS: Construction continues on our first new hotel construction, the Hampton Inn & Suites. With plans progressing and construction underway on this and other properties, we are already seeing an immediate return of conventions interested in bringing their groups back to Jekyll Island! We are pleased to announce that Jekyll Island has been selected as the host for a 2009 meeting of the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, as well as the Georgia Press Association 2009 annual conference. We appreciate your interest in Jekyll Island, and encourage you to stay in touch. I value your continued insight and feedback, please check out our website www.jekyllisland.com for up-to-date information.

Kind Regards,
Jones Hooks
Executive Director, Jekyll Island - State Park Authority

Tags: georgia coast, jekyll island, jekyll island authority, jekyll island revitalization, Jekyll Island visitation
Posted in From the Desk of Jones Hooks, In the News | 4 Comments »

Jekyll Island, Ga. (September 15, 2008) - As revitalization of Jekyll Island progresses, an independent visitation analysis was presented to the Jekyll Island Authority board by consultant Ken Bleakly at its regular meeting on Monday. The purpose of the study is to provide the Jekyll Island Authority with a better understanding of the cumulative effects of future revitalization on the island’s infrastructure and environmental resources. In addition, the study offers a forecasting tool that gives clear estimates of how revitalization projects will benefit visitation and revenues.

The Bleakly Advisory Group project team, which includes engineering firm Thomas & Hutton and land planner Cooper Carry, utilized a number of factors to determine historic visitation of Jekyll Island, including wastewater treatment volume, traffic counts, parking fee revenue, golf rounds, and hotel room nights. The study shows a slow but steady decline in visitation to the island since the early 1990s.

“Ken Bleakly and his team have presented us with a thorough and objective modeling analysis that will guide us as we move forward with revitalization,” said Jones Hooks, executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority. “It is obvious that fewer Georgians are visiting Jekyll Island, but the good news is that we can bring them back through a strategic revitalization plan that doesn’t require major infrastructure changes.”

The study also provides a number of forecasts based on varying redevelopment density scenarios as defined by Cooper Carry and carried forward from the Jekyll Island Master Plan. The initial projection shows that financial sustainability can be achieved under a low-to-medium density scenario.

Other key findings from the study:

• Visitation peaked at an estimated 2.1 million visitors in 1989-1990 and totaled approximately 1.49 million visitors in fiscal year 2008.
• Jekyll Island can be financially sustained by reaching approximately 2.65 million annual visitors. According to the study, achieving this level of visitation will:
• Support operating costs and correct deferred maintenance;
• Pay for needed long-range capital improvements and enhanced visitor amenities;
• Increase visitation by approximately 21 percent (by 2023) over historical peak visitation during 1989-90;

• Homeownership on Jekyll Island is primarily characterized as an investment property or second home, with 67 percent of owners from 35 states other than Georgia and Canada. Home rental accounts for 9 percent of lodging revenue for the island.
• Future development only affects 6 percent of the island, and all development is within the 35 percent of the island that is developable as outlined by state law.

In addition to the visitation analysis, the Jekyll Island Authority board has initiated several other policy measures to protect the island’s habitats, resources and character as revitalization continues. An ordinance passed this summer defined appropriate beachfront lighting practices to protect the island’s endangered sea turtle habitat from light pollution. The Authority expects to adopt new design guidelines articulating standards for all building and landscaping in order to maintain Jekyll Island’s unique character. The design guidelines include height restrictions that limit building height to what currently exists in the Jekyll Island Historic District. New conservation guidelines to protect Jekyll Island’s natural resources are currently under final legal review and should be adopted soon. A rebranding effort is also underway that will reflect a revitalized Jekyll island and encourage more Georgians to visit.

“People love Jekyll Island because it is a sanctuary and a retreat with the right balance of nature and amenities,” said Eric Garvey, the Authority’s senior director of marketing. “Revitalization will enhance that, and therefore we want to focus our message on this key feature. Our goal is simple: to bring more Georgians to Jekyll.”

A public presentation of the visitation analysis will be held Monday, September 29 at 2 p.m. at the Jekyll Island Convention Center.

Tags: georgia coast, jekyll island, jekyll island development, jekyll island revitalization, Jekyll Island visitation
Posted in In the News, Press Releases | 2 Comments »

As is true with all good research, it is never ending. This is the most recent incarnation of my research on the visitation data on Jekyll Island. (Jekyll Counts v.5).

There is some greatly expanded information - some as early as 1969. While it is by no means definitive, there are some marked changes in what was initially compiled. Some new info is added - DOT Causeway counts from the 1970s, census data from 1980 (amazing the Census shows a 48% in permanent residents between 1980 and 2000, which could have had impacts on many things). There were some data entry errors resulting in the Hotel Occupancy figures being overstated in FY 2000 & 2001. This has been corrected. You will also notice that the “Visitation” column is left fairly blank. The initial report referenced a car count multiplier of 3.46 as an accurate representation of island visitation. This idea dates back to data from the late 1960s, but has been called into question in other reports throughout the years - most notably, the 1981 Hammer, Siler & George Master Plan. In this version, the projection is removed and the multiplier is stated as noted from a source report. A number of reports note that truly accurately projecting island visitation is incredibly difficult. The biggest data change was the increasing of traffic counts from 1997 through 2007. As we checked data, we determined that beginning in 1998, island traffic at the greeting station was definitely broken into two groups - paid cars and decals scanned. The data from 2004-2007 was available and was added to the paid cars total. The 4 year data was also used to create an average that was added to paid cars from 1998 - 2003 - again not definitive but a solid estimate. Finally, a great deal of data had to be reconstructed for FY 1995, 1996, & 1997 - as it appears to in the transition period of 3 directors in 36 months, it seems to have sucked a number of records into a black hole. Finally, the most prominent addition are the source notations, which I think places the items in a greater context.

John Hunter, Director of the Jekyll Island Museum

Tags: jekyll island facts, jekyll island revitalization, Jekyll Island visitation
Posted in History comes Alive, Just the Facts, Press Releases | No Comments »

Guest Blogger: Ken Bleakly:

After reading the articles on the visitation numbers dispute, I was thinking that the data that Bill Tipton generates on visitation to the Golden Isles and Jekyll’s share of the visitation since 1999 should clearly show that the island has been stagnant while the region is growing.  Also, if the island is “only “ down 15% in the last ten years how much has visitation in the state been growing during the same period, Jekyll has clearly been loosing out on capturing the growth which has been occurring in the state.  Also, during the last twenty years the state’s population has grown by more than 3 million residents, and Jekyll’s visitation is, at best, flat or slowly declining—these differences are dramatic. 

Ken Bleakly

Tags: jekyll island development, jekyll island revitalization, Jekyll Island visitation
Posted in Just the Facts | No Comments »

APPENDIX B – Historical Data

Jekyll Causeway Vehicle Count (GDOT)
2006   4260 daily
2005   3730 daily
2004   4270 daily
2003   3941 daily
2002   4960 daily
2001   3200 daily
2000   3700 daily
1999    3600 daily
1998    3600 daily
1997    4300 daily
1996    4500 daily
1995    6700 daily
1994    8900 daily
1993    3900 daily
1992    4724 daily
1991    6626 daily
1990    8467 daily

AVG - 4232
Annual - 1,544,680

SSI Causeway Vehicle Count
2006    31670
2005    31190
2004    30879
2003    29164
2002    28411

AVG – 30262
Annual – 11,045,630

Jekyll Causeway Capacity (GDOT’s ” Acceptable Levels of Service”)

18,000 - 21,000 vehicles daily

JEKYLL RESIDENTS (U.S. Census)

1990 – 1,150 2000 – 950

JEKYLL GREENSPACE (internal staff calculation)

Approximately 80% of the island is green space.

JEKYLL RESIDENTS (U.S. Census)

1990 – 1,150 2000 – 950

JEKYLL GREENSPACE (internal staff calculation)

Approximately 80% of the island is green space.

The following file is a table of hotel room nights, golf rounds, traffic counts, etc.: jekyll_island_statistical_data.pdf 

Tags: jekyll island, Jekyll Island Statistics, Jekyll Island traffic counts, Jekyll Island visitation
Posted in In the News, Just the Facts | 2 Comments »