It's not really such a tourist town - at least I don't think so.

My STRs are in Melbourne Beach, because my own municipality of Indialantic has a very small "tourist" zoned area, where they can be done.  

Is that area of downtown somewhere that is desirable and safe to live, or is it mostly tourist and work traffic?

Not only you will need the touristic license, which is harder and harder to get BUT the city is also currently defining some residential and touristic areas in the city.That means that even if you buy a property with the touristic license, if in a few months, the government decides that you are located in a residential area, you won't be able to rent your place short term anymore!!!

You wouldn’t think if Merced as a tourist destination, but with the UC and the proximity of Yosemite, I’ve heard there’s strong demand.

She currently lives in Rincon and says it has become very lively with many tourists flocking to this area especially for surfing.

It's taken municipalities a while to catch up since "STR" used to mean renting out your couch occasionally, but eventually all of these STR businesses will be required to be in commercial/tourist zones the same way every other business has to be.UPDATE:  Well, interesting timing, as there was just a big win in Austin in ruling that STRs couldn't be restricted to require owner-occupied, so maybe there is hope.

Lots of people are cash flowing premium real estate here in Orange County by renting on a short term basis to tourists, business people, families, nurses etc.

@Satish Chandra,Banner Elk is a great place for STR, there are tourist seasons all year around.

Evidence of this anticipated increase in tourist numbers is the large expansion going on now at our international airport.If you would like to at least explore this area, feel free to contact me.