Joint efforts by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel and the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources to promote tourism have resulted in a 14% growth in Alabama tourism this year.
We should also give some credit to Mother Nature for keeping the storms away from the Alabama Gulf Coast.
Alabama tourism grows more than $1 billion
49,000 workers added to industry over 4 yearsAlabama's tourism industry grew by 14 percent, or more than $1 billion, during the fiscal year that ended October 1, Gov. Bob Riley said Wednesday.
The growth caps a four-year increase of 33 percent in spending by travelers in the state.
"More and more tourists are discovering what we Alabamians have known all along: We have the most beautiful state in America," Riley said. "They've discovered our great hospitality, rehabilitated beaches, first-class golf resorts and new hotels. There are outstanding festivals, performances and attractions all over our state, and we're glad travelers are coming here to visit and boost our economy."
The increase in tourism has added 49,000 workers to the payrolls in the state's hospitality industry during the past four years, Riley said.
Travelers spent an estimated $8.9 billion in fiscal year 2006, which just ended, up from $6.7 billion four years ago. Almost 200,000 direct and indirect jobs in Alabama were a result of traveler spending.
Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel, said vacationers returned to Alabama's Gulf Coast beaches in numbers approaching pre-Hurricane Ivan levels during the summer. Approximately 28 percent of all travel expenditures in Alabama occur in the Gulf Shores-Orange Beach area, he said.
Huntsville will attract more convention delegates when the Embassy Suites Hotel adjacent to the Von Braun Center opens soon in downtown Huntsville, Sentell said. In August, the Huntsville Botanical Garden was named Alabama's 2006 Attraction of the Year. Santa's Village at Alabama Constitution Village also won recognition as Alabama's 2006 Event of the Year.