Tourism numbers could hit record 5 million one year after oil spill al.com: Tourism numbers could hit record 5 million one year after oil spill
GULF SHORES, Alabama -- After a 47 percent drop following the 2010 oil spill, Baldwin beach attendance are expected to hit a record 5 million visitors this year, tourism officials said Friday.
That number, up from 4.6 million in 2009, would also mean about $2.5 billion in visitor spending and 45,000 jobs, Herb Malone, director of Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Tourism told members of the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce.
“In the face of what happened last year, in the face of the nation’s worst recession in memory, we did OK,” Malone said.
Malone said final totals for 2011 won’t be known until 2012. The $237 million spent on lodging so far this year has already topped the previous record of $228 million for 2007.
In 2009, visitors spent about $2.3 billion in an industry that created about 40,000 jobs. Lodging revenue for the summer of 2011 was 16 percent more than in 2009, Malone said. Retail spending was up 9.3 percent.
Part of the reason for the increase was a marketing campaign funded with money from BP PLC, according to an Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Tourism statement.
Malone said television commercials featuring celebrities such as former Alabama coach Gene Stallings and Auburn coach Pat Dye and well as print and Internet advertising helped promote the region.
In a statement issued Friday, Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department, said the marketing effort helped the region recover from the economic effects of the spill.
“We are excited that Alabama’s Gulf Coast beaches were able to rebound so quickly and to set record numbers on top of it,” Sentell said. “The BP funding allowed us to market effectively to travelers and those efforts paid off. We will continue to promote our Gulf Coat and hope to continue to set records.”
Malone said the area is well positioned to continue to attract “post-recession consumers,” who are looking for value as well as enjoyment.
“We still spend money, but we’re more selective about what we buy,” Malone said.
He said the area has long appealed to families and older visitors. Events such as the Hangout Music Festival and Wharf concert series have also helped promote the region with younger adults.
Sports events have also helped promote the region. Spending on events such as the SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament increased from $3 million in 2008 to $16 million in 2011.
Gulf Shores/Orange Beach Tourism has also become a sponsor of the SEC. Malone said the beach area’s prime market is also the region included in the conference.
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Showing posts with label Gulf Shores Tourism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gulf Shores Tourism. Show all posts
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Officials ramp up push for marketing dollars to restore Gulf Coast's reputation
Officials ramp up push for marketing dollars to restore Gulf Coast's reputation al.com: "Officials ramp up push for marketing dollars to restore Gulf Coast's reputation"
By David Ferrara, Press-Register
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft is continuing a push to get BP PLC dollars for marketing.
ORANGE BEACH — Leaders along the Alabama coast continue to push BP PLC for marketing dollars that would help lure tourists back to the beaches and get people eating Gulf seafood again.
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said that money would help deal with the record-setting oil spill’s impact on the coast’s reputation, “the most fragile part of business and the most difficult to recover from.”
To Bayou La Batre Mayor Stan Wright, the Gulf’s oyster industry is a little bit like the California cow, particularly one seen in television commercials promoting “great milk from happy cows.”
He envisions commercials for fresh Gulf Coast oysters, “showing the products and how you cook it” with delighted eaters slurping the oysters down.
The mayor, an oyster processor, said he meets regularly with his fellow seafood industry partners to talk about how to get those promotions started.
And Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, meanwhile, is trying to form a coalition of elected officials from Panama City to the Louisiana coast in an effort to promote the northern Gulf Coast.
“Recovery isn’t writing a check. It’s changing perception,” Craft said. “We’ve got to convince people that it’s safe to come here.”
So far there are officials from seven counties in Alabama and Florida involved in the interstate commission.
Speaking by telephone from a meeting in Pensacola this week, Kennon said officials in Florida were experiencing “the same troubles” with regard to Ken Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
Kennon has been outspoken in his criticism of Feinberg, occasionally even taunting the Washington lawyer during public events. The mayor has repeatedly said that he believes Feinberg misunderstands the economics of Alabama’s beachfront community.
Kennon said he wants to reach out to the mayors of Biloxi and Gulfport and eventually as far west as Louisiana.
The bigger the group, Kennon imagines, the stronger the pact.
“British Petroleum’s M.O. has been to divide and conquer,” Kennon said. “And we’re tired of that. We want to discuss and work hard to work together on what we have in common. What we’ve got to understand is that the northern Gulf Coast is a region and we all benefit from each other’s success.”
Last year’s free fall concert series drew October crowds larger than the Baldwin coast has ever seen, officials said. Now Craft and other community leaders want BP to fund one more concert series.
Craft said last week that he and others are negotiating with BP on one “theory that hasn’t been worked out yet.”
That is: Charge admission for a concert series this year, and use the revenue to pay expenses for concerts in 2012, with money from each subsequent concert paying for the next.
“So BP only funds one more year,” Craft said. “The best way for us to change the future claims problem is for them (BP) to give us the money we’ve requested for our marketing and advertising dollars for this spring and summer. If we bring the customers back, then the GCCF problem goes away.”
BP spokesman Justin Saia on Thursday acknowledged working with Alabama officials in support of tourism.
Kennon said flatly “we want an absolute commitment in blood” for marketing money.
Craft said there are plans for events other than concerts, but he declined to comment further about those ideas.
By David Ferrara, Press-Register
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft is continuing a push to get BP PLC dollars for marketing.
ORANGE BEACH — Leaders along the Alabama coast continue to push BP PLC for marketing dollars that would help lure tourists back to the beaches and get people eating Gulf seafood again.
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said that money would help deal with the record-setting oil spill’s impact on the coast’s reputation, “the most fragile part of business and the most difficult to recover from.”
To Bayou La Batre Mayor Stan Wright, the Gulf’s oyster industry is a little bit like the California cow, particularly one seen in television commercials promoting “great milk from happy cows.”
He envisions commercials for fresh Gulf Coast oysters, “showing the products and how you cook it” with delighted eaters slurping the oysters down.
The mayor, an oyster processor, said he meets regularly with his fellow seafood industry partners to talk about how to get those promotions started.
And Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon, meanwhile, is trying to form a coalition of elected officials from Panama City to the Louisiana coast in an effort to promote the northern Gulf Coast.
“Recovery isn’t writing a check. It’s changing perception,” Craft said. “We’ve got to convince people that it’s safe to come here.”
So far there are officials from seven counties in Alabama and Florida involved in the interstate commission.
Speaking by telephone from a meeting in Pensacola this week, Kennon said officials in Florida were experiencing “the same troubles” with regard to Ken Feinberg’s Gulf Coast Claims Facility.
Kennon has been outspoken in his criticism of Feinberg, occasionally even taunting the Washington lawyer during public events. The mayor has repeatedly said that he believes Feinberg misunderstands the economics of Alabama’s beachfront community.
Kennon said he wants to reach out to the mayors of Biloxi and Gulfport and eventually as far west as Louisiana.
The bigger the group, Kennon imagines, the stronger the pact.
“British Petroleum’s M.O. has been to divide and conquer,” Kennon said. “And we’re tired of that. We want to discuss and work hard to work together on what we have in common. What we’ve got to understand is that the northern Gulf Coast is a region and we all benefit from each other’s success.”
Last year’s free fall concert series drew October crowds larger than the Baldwin coast has ever seen, officials said. Now Craft and other community leaders want BP to fund one more concert series.
Craft said last week that he and others are negotiating with BP on one “theory that hasn’t been worked out yet.”
That is: Charge admission for a concert series this year, and use the revenue to pay expenses for concerts in 2012, with money from each subsequent concert paying for the next.
“So BP only funds one more year,” Craft said. “The best way for us to change the future claims problem is for them (BP) to give us the money we’ve requested for our marketing and advertising dollars for this spring and summer. If we bring the customers back, then the GCCF problem goes away.”
BP spokesman Justin Saia on Thursday acknowledged working with Alabama officials in support of tourism.
Kennon said flatly “we want an absolute commitment in blood” for marketing money.
Craft said there are plans for events other than concerts, but he declined to comment further about those ideas.
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