Welcome to early May — that time when we usually have a bit of a lull here along Alabama’s Beaches as spring break has ended and the busy summer is still a few weeks off.

This week, May 4-10, marks National Travel and Tourism Week, where destinations across the country are focused on sharing their stories of how tourism drives their local economy. Here along Alabama’s Beaches, we certainly have that very strong story to tell, but I want to tell it a bit differently.

There is a well-shared quote about the impact tourism has on a community that goes like this:

“It all starts with a visit. If we build a place where people want to visit, we will build a place where people want to live. If we build a place where people want to live, we will build a place where people want to work. If we build a place where people want to work, we will build a place where business has to be. And if we build a place where business has to be, we will be back to building a place where people want to visit.” (by Maura Gast, executive director of Destination Irving in Irving, Texas)

“IT ALL STARTS WITH A VISIT”

Let’s step back just a “few” years to 2002. I was working in the health care field in South Bend, Indiana. That May, I made my first-ever visit to the Alabama Gulf Coast to see family, a visit that changed the trajectory of my life. I had never heard of this area but was so moved by the friendly, welcoming people, the gorgeous beaches and water and the passionate, but laid-back vibe of those who lived here that I moved from Indiana two months later in July (and yes, without a job). Two more months later, in September, I started working in sales for Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. My story is similar to many others who came here to visit and fell in love with the beach, the outdoor options, the slower pace and the welcoming spirit.

Since 2011, we have seen relatively consistent year-over-year growth in the number of people who choose Alabama’s Beaches for their vacation. Those visitors have had a close to 1,000-time spending impact on our local economy each of the last three years.

“IF WE BUILD A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE, WE WILL BUILD A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO WORK”

This year, I celebrate 23 years promoting Alabama’s Beaches and businesses. In those 23 years, our communities have seen a lot of change, especially moving from being mainly known by people in Alabama and our surrounding states to attracting visitors from all over the country and the world. We are no longer a “summer only” tourism destination; we have always been blessed to have a strong summer season, but now we are truly a year-round place to visit. And with our population growth, many of those visitors are doing like I did and making it their new home. Our communities offer amazing quality of life aspects (which tourism revenue helps fund) that are exactly what visitors are seeking - our beaches, nature and the outdoors, water recreation, fishing, golf, restaurants, shopping, conservation and sustainability efforts, arts and artists, and a nationally recognized recreational trail. Add in the safety of our cities and two leading school districts with enviable sports and performing arts facilities, and it is easy to see why a visitor would want to live here.

“IF WE BUILD A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO VISIT, WE WILL BUILD A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE”

Tourism is our economy here. It is the leading employer in our destination and Baldwin County as a whole, and tourism makes up almost one-quarter of jobs in Alabama. Tourism provides a livelihood for thousands of area residents, from direct jobs like people working for lodging companies, restaurants and attractions to indirect jobs like people working for HVAC companies, retail and grocery stores and other businesses that touch the tourism industry. You can’t sling a bushwacker here without touching people who work in tourism.

“IF WE BUILD A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO WORK, WE WILL BUILD A PLACE WHERE BUSINESS HAS TO BE”

Tourism continues to create a demand for diversity of businesses and an increased number of businesses. The variety and number of tourism-related businesses here continues to grow, both with new businesses opening and existing businesses expanding, including some in the last few months:

• Portside at The Wharf has opened, adding new shops and restaurants
• Top Sail Steamer
• Shipp’s at Orange Beach Marina
• Timberline Glamping
• Gulf Coast Eco Center
• Hi-Tide Daiquiris & Mimosas recently opened their third location
• Sunliner Diner is building a second location
• Embassy Suites will open in Gulf Shores in late summer
• Margaritaville Resort in Orange Beach will break ground soon
• Multiple condominium towers are under construction

Perhaps the biggest testament to our destination’s attractiveness to big business is Allegiant Airlines starting non-stop flights directly to and from Gulf Shores and six other cities: Belleville, Illinois (greater St. Louis area); Bentonville, Arkansas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Knoxville, Tennessee. The airline fully anticipates its service expanding to other cities just as has happened with its flights to one of our neighboring beach communities in Florida. Alabama’s Beaches has a reputation as an outstanding place to live and visit, and business leaders and owners are investing in our communities, showing that tourism leads to economic development.

Living in a tourism community and tourism economy on the Gulf Coast is not without its challenges. We have seen devastation with Hurricane Ivan, the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Hurricane Sally. Those periods had all of us wondering, “How will our communities come back from this?” and “How will our economy survive?” But that is the beauty of our visitors — they consider our beaches their beaches and their “happy place.” They feel a sense of ownership and loyalty to our area and have brought us back each and every time … by visiting and spending money to support our businesses and workers. We are blessed to live and work in a place that becomes so special to people who visit here.

MY CHALLENGE TO ALL OF US

Several years ago, we had a visitor from Michigan stop into one of our Welcome Centers to report a serious issue — she felt we had a “friendliness problem” because everyone was so welcoming and friendly everywhere she went. I want that “problem” to be contagious to our residents and visitors alike. So, I encourage you this week — during National Travel and Tourism Week — to thank that visitor you encounter on the beach, along the Backcountry Trail or in a local business, for choosing Alabama’s Beaches for their vacation. Also, thank the business owners and their workers who serve you at a restaurant, attraction, retail or grocery store or other local business, for choosing to work here at the beach so that you, as a resident, get to enjoy their business and products.

Then, do it again next week, then the next, and the next, and the next, until it is “just what you do.”

May we never forget and always provide the incredibly special way of living that attracted many of us to return to Alabama’s Beaches after our own first visit.

Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism — branded as Alabama's Beaches — is the official destination marketing organization for the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in addition to the unincorporated area of Fort Morgan. This convention and visitors bureau is an accredited Destination Marketing Organization.