Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism Shares Tourism Update

Business and industry leaders from across Baldwin County recently gathered at the Orange Beach Event Center for the Coastal Alabama Business Chamber’s First Friday Forum sponsored by Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. Beth Gendler, president and CEO of Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism, reported on the impact of visitors to the area through the end of this year’s summer season. “Two of our primary key indicators of the health of our tourism industry are taxable lodging rentals and taxable retail sales,” explained Gendler. “Through August of this year, our area is pacing well above the total year-end figures in both categories compared to pre-COVID 2019, our last ‘normal’ tourism year before the pandemic. For January through August this year, taxable lodging rentals are at $843 million compared to $575 million in 2019. In fact, 2023 so far has also outpaced our total 2021 taxable lodging rentals figure of $815 million, and we are optimistic we will be right in line with the $890 million for 2022 by the end of the year.” Taxable retail sales, which surpassed $1 billion in 2021, are on pace with both 2021 and 2022: $1.07 billion in eight months of 2023, compared to $1.4 billion for each of the previous years. While final 2023 economic impact numbers won’t be compiled until next spring, the impact of visitors on the area is significant. According to the Alabama Tourism Department’s 2022 report, an estimated 8.3 million visitors came to Baldwin County, with a strong majority of those (6.4 million) coming to Alabama’s beaches. Those visitors spent almost $8 billion in the county and helped employ 65,000 with tourism-related jobs. Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and the Fort Morgan area account for 55,000 of those jobs.