State and local Alabama officials are doing more to promote Gulf Coast Alabama ecotourism activities. The latest is a free seminar to be held this Wednesday. An Ecotourism Summit is planned for local businesses to help them to better understand and promote the Gulf Shores and Alabama Gulf Coast areas.
Officials from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Reserve will attend the event and discuss their respective ecotourism programs. Attendees will get insight and updates on programs such as Coastal Cleanup, the state's Clean Marina program and Share the Beach - a program which monitors sea turtle nesting.
The Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau surveyed tourists vacationing in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach this year. According to the results of the survey nearly 10% of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach vacationers chose to vacation there because of nature and the local environment.
Gulf State Park and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge rank among the area's top attractions tourists visit while vacationing in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach.
Ecotourism summit slated for Wednesday
With ecological endeavors such as birding, kayaking or hiking increasing in popularity and in the amount of spending they draw, local business and tourism leaders will host a summit Wednesday on how to promote and package sustainable tourism on Alabama's coast.
"The idea is to give local businesses a better picture of how they and their guests can interact with our natural resources," said Colette Boehm, director of special projects for the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The summit -- co-sponsored by the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce -- is scheduled for Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Erie H. Meyer Civic Center on West 19th Avenue.
The event is free, but those wishing to attend must register in advance with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and can do so by calling 974-1510, Boehm said.
According to a preliminary agenda of the meeting, representatives from Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program and the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Reserve will be on hand to discuss their programs. Also on tap are updates on ecological efforts like Coastal Cleanup, the state's Clean Marina program and Share the Beach, which monitors sea turtle nesting.
And officials from Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, Gulf State Park and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge will also be on hand to talk about the ecotourism attractions in each jurisdiction.
Orange Beach, for example, will be represented by Councilwoman Tracy Holiday and Coastal Resources Director Phillip West. Holiday said they will brief the audience on:
Progress toward the city's Back Country Trail, a hiking path being carved through the city's ancient maritime forest.
A canoe trail through the city's backbays and coves that is in the works.
Efforts to create an estuary island reserve centered on Robinson Island and geared toward the preservation of surrounding aquatic grass beds and the island's wading bird rookeries as well as recreational activities.