• What are
  FAVORITES?
  Bookmark any page of our site conveniently in this one area.
  
  Sign In or Register so you can take advantage of all of the features of After Fifty Living

Officials along the Gulf Coast say snowbirds are flocking to the region again this winter, generating an economic boost to areas hit hardest by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The return of those mostly older visitors from northern climates is "vital" to a region that banks on tourism dollars and was battered in the summer by dwindling numbers of visitors, said Linda Whitlock of the Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce in Baldwin County.

Parts of Alabama, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle were among some of the more heavily affected areas after the BP oil spill, said Ed Levine, a scientific support coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The snowbird season heats up on the coasts of Alabama and the Florida Panhandle in late December and early January, said Karen Harrell, who publishes Snowbirds Gulf Coast.

"The season appears to be on track to equal or even be better than last season," she said. The snowbirds, she said, "closely followed news of the oil spill" through news media and friends. "Some are true part-time residents and spend up to six months here," Harrell said.

Some areas expect increases

Higher-than-average snowbird numbers are expected in northwest Florida, said Mark Bellinger, president and CEO of Emerald Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau covers the areas of Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island.

In 2009, winter visitors generated an economic impact of about $29 million, he said.

"We are predicting a slight increase of visitors this winter," Bellinger said. "That's based on reservations at our condominiums and hotels."

Tourism also is likely to increase this winter in Panama City Beach, a popular snowbird destination on the Florida Panhandle, said Dan Rowe, president and CEO of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"I do not believe that the BP oil spill will have a negative effect on our winter visitation," he said.

The tar balls that washed onshore after the spill have been cleaned up and people are returning to the beach, Rowe said.

Snowbirds, or "winter guests," are looking to get away from the snow and ice, Harrell said.

"Few actually swim in the Gulf of Mexico in winter, but they do like walking on the beach," she said, "and for the most part, the beach cleanup efforts have been successful."

Gulf Shores saw about a 33 percent decline in tourism-related income nuring the summer because of the oil disaster, Mayor Robert Craft said.

"This past summer was expected to be the beginning of the good times," he said. "Everything pointed to people wanting to travel again after the tough economic conditions of 2008 and 2009. Our first-quarter totals for this year were up about 12 percent over 2009. ... We were going into the spring and summer season with a great deal of momentum.

"Then the spill happened."

Just west of the Alabama coast, the oil spill had much less of an impact, said Richard Forester, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau in Harrison County, Miss.

"We are not a beach destination. We're an adult gaming destination," he said.

Still, the snowbirds are important to the local economy, he said.

"They will come, and they will spend money," he said.

Snowbirds also are less of a tourism factor in Louisiana, said Melody Alijani, director of research and development for the state's office of tourism. The state doesn't have a beach tourism segment like Alabama or northwestern Florida, she added.

Louisiana has marsh and wetlands mostly along the coast, not the wide sandy beaches of Alabama, Mississippi and the Panhandle.

Northerners appear

Mary Lou McCann of Toronto is a member of the board of directors of Noah's Ark at Panama City Beach. The group catering to snowbirds is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. She traveled to the coast in late October and plans to stay until April 1.

"We are starting to see members from Alberta, the East Coast of Canada and Wisconsin making the trip, so the Northerners are beginning to appear," she said. "We've been making the trip for 15 years. From everything we see and hear from our group, most of us plan on coming back this year.

"It's a beautiful beach here, and we've walked the beach every day. They have done a great job in cleaning the beach."

Betty and Marv Hastings of Ankeny, Iowa, plan to travel to Orange Beach this year just as they have since 2003.

They direct the Iowa Snowbirds Club, which has 175 to 200 members.

"We're looking forward to returning," Betty Hastings said. "It's a great area. We followed the news of the oil spill, of course. We've had friends go down on shorter trips, and they tell us everything is cleaned up and back to normal."

Aside from spending money, snowbirds will become ambassadors for the region when they return home, said Craft, the Gulf Shores mayor.

"It's important that our winter visitors find clean, safe beaches," he said. "We've had a few of our businesses go under, but most of our stalwarts remain."

-----

Copyright (c) 2010, Montgomery Advertiser, Ala.  A service of YellowBrix, Inc.

Leave a Comment -

Guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, but for the sake of all visitors to AfterFiftyLiving.com, please refrain from the use of obscenities, personal attacks or slurs. All comments are subject to our terms of use and may be removed. Repeat offenders may lose commenting privileges.