Editing Destin, Florida (section)

===Tourism===
The white beaches and emerald waters of the Destin area draw many tourists. Florida's Department of Environmental Protection estimates that more than 80 percent of the Emerald Coast's 4.5 million yearly visitors travel to the region to visit Destin.<ref name="dep-emeraldcoast" /> Visitors can charter fishing vessels from the harbor,<ref name="chamber-boating">{{cite web|url=http://www.destinchamber.com/visitor/fishing.asp|title=Fishing, Boating, & Water Sports|publisher=Destin Chamber of Commerce|access-date=2007-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219032944/http://www.destinchamber.com/visitor/fishing.asp|archive-date=2007-12-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> and there are 12 beach access points in the city.<ref name="city-beachaccess">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityofdestin.com/index.php?src=gendocs&link=BeachAccess&category=Main|title=Beach Locations|publisher=City of Destin|access-date=2007-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080116012216/http://www.cityofdestin.com/index.php?src=gendocs&link=BeachAccess&category=Main|archive-date=2008-01-16|url-status=dead}}</ref> Among the access points is [[Henderson Beach State Recreation Area]]. A portion of the [[Gulf Islands National Seashore]], the Okaloosa Day Use Area, is just across East Pass on Santa Rosa Island.

The sand on Destin's beaches is some of the whitest in the world.<ref name="eglinguide">{{cite web|url=http://www.united-publishers.com/EglinGuide/communities.html|title=Eglin Air Force Base Guide|access-date=2007-11-26}}</ref> The sand comes from the [[Appalachian Mountains]], and is made of finely ground quartz crystal giving the appearance of sugar.<ref name="srsound-emeraldcoast">{{cite web|url=http://dep.state.fl.us/gwt/paddling/Segments/Segment%202/Segment2.htm|title=Santa Rosa Sound/Emerald Coast|access-date=2007-11-26|publisher=Florida Department of Environmental Protection}}</ref> Residue flows down the [[Apalachicola River]] and is deposited into the Gulf of Mexico.<ref name="srsound-emeraldcoast" /> Because of the currents the sand drifts west along the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf Coast]] and settles from east of Panama City to the Alabama coast.<ref name="chamber-sand">{{cite web|url=http://www.destinchamber.com/destin/history-sand.asp|title=History of our Sand|publisher=Destin Chamber of Commerce|access-date=2007-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114124040/http://www.destinchamber.com/destin/history-sand.asp|archive-date=2007-11-14|url-status=dead}}</ref><!-- There should be no commercial special interest links, here. Consider only linking to this page, instead. -->

Several events also take place throughout the year as well. For the month of October, the annual [[Destin Fishing Rodeo]] draws anglers to Destin each year since 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.destinfishingrodeo.org/tournament.html|title=Tournament Info|publisher=Destin Fishing Rodeo|access-date=2009-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306210825/http://www.destinfishingrodeo.org/tournament.html|archive-date=2009-03-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also in the month of October is the Destin Seafood Festival, where fresh seafood and local artists gather for one weekend every October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.destinchamber.com/destin/seafoodfestival.asp|title=Destin Seafood Festival|access-date=2009-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507193945/http://www.destinchamber.com/destin/seafoodfestival.asp|archive-date=2009-05-07|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=destin+seafood+festival&search_type=&aq=f|title=YouTube Search Results for Destin Seafood Festival|website=[[YouTube]]|access-date=2010-01-07}}</ref>

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In addition to an assortment of [[hotel]]s and [[motel]]s, many high-rise [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s are located in Destin. The first condominiums in Destin were built in the 1970s,<ref name="eastpass-management" /> and construction continues today.<ref name="dep-emeraldcoast" /> Visitors play a large part in Destin's economy – the city's population of around 12,000 balloons to 40,000 during the tourist season.<ref name="dep-emeraldcoast" />

Real estate in Destin, Florida, is comprised in large part by privately owned vacation rentals, consisting of condominiums, beach homes, townhomes, resorts, studios, cottages, and a few bungalows. Most vacation properties are found on the south side of US Hwy 98 near the Gulf, while most locals live on the northern side of US Hwy 98 by the Choctawhatchee Bay.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://destinflorida.com/vacation-rentals|title=Destin Vacation Rentals|last=Godar|first=Cory|date=Oct 2, 2020|website=Destinflorida.com News}}</ref>

Destin's surroundings include other popular tourist destinations. [[Sandestin, Florida|Sandestin]], located to the east in [[Walton County, Florida|Walton County]], is a popular golf and beach resort. Further east along the coast are the master-planned community of [[Seaside, Florida|Seaside]], filming location of the 1998 movie [[The Truman Show]];<ref name="trumanshow-seaside">{{cite video|people=Eric Young (Executive Producer)|title="How's It Going To End? The Making of The Truman Show, Part II"|medium=DVD (Special Feature)|publisher=Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment|date=1998}}</ref> [[Grayton Beach, Florida]]; and [[Rosemary Beach, Florida]]. To the west are [[Navarre Beach, Florida|Navarre Beach]] and [[Pensacola Beach, Florida|Pensacola Beach]], and the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] fortification [[Fort Pickens]] is located at the western end of Santa Rosa Island. Many celebrities own homes in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/20170606/celebs-spotted-on-emerald-coast|title=Celebs spotted on the Emerald Coast|last=Vasquez|first=Savannah|date=June 6, 2017|website=NWF Daily News}}</ref>[[File:Destin Library, 2021.jpg|thumb|upright|Destin Library]]