Officials at Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism recently revealed visitor data for 2023, showing that Alabama's beaches are attracting tourists throughout the year. At their annual Tourism Summit, they announced that spending on lodging rentals nearly matched the previous year's, reaching $880 million. Retail sales, however, broke records, hitting $1.44 billion.

Beth Gendler, the President and CEO of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism, shared these figures, emphasizing the beaches' popularity as a vacation destination. Despite a slight dip in taxable lodging revenue, the commitment to marketing the Alabama Gulf Coast as an attractive year-round spot remains strong.

The summit also provided insights into the stability of tourism over the seasons, which benefits local businesses by ensuring steady employment and consistent service for visitors. This year-round visitation trend breaks from the past when tourism peaked only in summer.

NEW SPORTSPLEX PROJECT
Further economic impact figures from 2023 are awaited from the Alabama Tourism Department. Additionally, the summit included updates on the Herbert J. Malone Sportsplex. This project, named after a local tourism pioneer, will feature outdoor fields, an indoor facility, and retail spaces. An architectural firm has been selected to start the site plan for the sportsplex, which will be located on Coastal Gateway Blvd., and include a variety of amenities for both sports and local community engagement.

The sportsplex is designed to cater to the growing demand for sports tourism and local recreational needs, with no fixed timeline for completion yet announced. The presentations from the Tourism Summit are available on the Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism website for more details.