FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) - Tourism revenues for 2014 are up in every category in Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale counties, a sign tourism in the Shoals and surrounding areas is thriving, officials said.
The release of the Alabama Department of Tourism’s Economic Impact report shows a range of growth across the various categories from 3.1 percent to 21 percent in the three counties.
The biggest gains were in the area of state lodging tax collections with a 21 percent increase in Colbert County over 2013’s collections, 15.3 percent in Franklin County, and 6.2 percent in Lauderdale County.
“Last year was a big year for tourism, coming off the recession and having so many people in our county for the music,” said Colbert Tourism Director Susann Hamlin, adding the Muscle Shoals Music documentary continued to generate visitors to the area, both international and domestic. “We had among the highest increase in the state and I’m extremely pleased about that.”
Hamlin said the area is becoming more of a tourist destination as opposed to a day-trip venue. She said she was particularly pleased to learn Colbert County’s travel-related earnings were up 3.6 percent. Earnings equate to the revenues the hospitality-related entities bring in.
“Gas prices were down, nearly half the price of the previous year, so to have this kind of increase is amazing,” she said.
Travel-related expenditures are what travelers spend in the combined areas of restaurants, hotels, attractions, entertainment, transportation and general retail.
In Lauderdale County, a $59,295 increase in lodging taxes is a sign marketing efforts are working.
“When you have this kind of increase, it shows our hotels are doing a good job servicing the visitors to our area and it plays into our overall marketing plan each year,” said Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Assistant Director Alison Stanfield. “Through research, trade shows and trade trends, we know the future predictions, so we continue to go after these numbers. Our projection for this year should show yet another increase.”
Lauderdale’s employment growth in 2014 was 3.9 percent, representing nearly 100 new hospitality employees. Stanfield said it’s a sign of a healthy tourism economy.
“It all works together in that when there’s an increase in occupancy rates, hotels hire new employees,” she said. “With restaurants and attractions having more attendance, they’ve also hired more employees. Hospitality jobs are vital to this community.”
Franklin County’s increases showed the most sizeable gains since the 2008 recession, welcome news to the county’s tourism officials.
The county’s biggest increase was 15.3 percent in the state lodging tax category.
Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Director Cassie Medley said the increases represent much-needed revenue for the county.
“We’ve had (three) new bed and breakfast facilities open in the Red Bay area and other increases in visitors and revenues due to the Rock Bridge Canyon Equestrian Park, which has one cabin for lodging and plans to add more,” Medley said.
“The revenues are growing. We’re thankful for the travelers that fuel up here, eat at our restaurants and stay in our hotels and lodging facilities. We expect to see another increase next year.”
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Information from: TimesDaily, https://www.timesdaily.com/
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