Tourism's Economic Impact
On average, over 55,000 tourism-related jobs are supported each year on Alabama’s Beaches, resulting in over $2.4 billion in wages for locals. Additionally, visitors spend around $6.7 billion each year while in our area. This money is reinvested directly in the community through essential resources, including police and fire services, parks and recreation, beach rescue, city schools, community programs and facilities. Whether you have children in our exceptional schools, spend time in our beautiful parks, or utilize community facilities such as libraries and fitness centers, we hope you will continue to use and enjoy these tourism-funded resources for years to come.
*Source: 2024 Economic Report; Alabama Tourism Department
Occupancy Insights
View occupancy insights for the upcoming weeks and months to anticipate the visitor forecast in our area. This data includes accommodation bookings for Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan. With this information, we can see the predicted number of visitors arriving to the destination based on lodging confirmations. Business owners can use this data to prepare for incoming guests, while residents can anticipate when there will likely be crowds at beaches, longer wait times at restaurants, and days with heavy traffic.
Check In + Out Days
To help residents navigate the area during busy seasons, we would like to highlight the days with the highest volume of check-ins and check-outs, which may impact traffic. Our guests arrive by traveling south on the Foley Beach Express and Hwy. 59. Check-in time for most hotels and vacation rentals is around 3-4 pm, while check-out times range from 10 am to 12 pm. Saturday remains a popular arrival day throughout the year, so expect heavy southbound traffic on the Beach Express and Highway 59 and eastbound traffic on Canal Rd. in Orange Beach on Friday afternoons.