In April 2011, Governor Robert Bentley announced that BP would spend $16 million over two years on tourism promotion projects in coastal Alabama, marking a significant step in the region’s economic recovery following the devastating 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Targeting the Hardest-Hit Counties
The funding was specifically designated for Baldwin and Mobile counties, the two coastal Alabama counties that suffered the steepest tourism losses in the wake of the spill. The grant aimed to draw visitors back to the Gulf Coast through a combination of advertising campaigns, bundled attraction and event tickets, and concert promotions.
“Alabama was hardest hit of all the Gulf Coast states by last year’s BP Oil Spill,” Bentley said in announcing the approved projects. “Alabama will use these funds to promote tourism to our Gulf Coast communities so that we can begin to recoup the losses suffered since the disaster.”
Administration and Oversight
Lee Sentell, Director of the Alabama Tourism Department, was tasked with administering the grant funds. The Alabama Coastal Development Commission was charged with developing, implementing, and planning the tourism promotion program while advising Sentell on how best to deploy the resources.
Sentell emphasized that the commission took a careful, methodical approach to selecting projects. “We received numerous requests and spent many weeks working through them to ensure that the event or project met the terms of our tourism agreement and would be the best use of the funds to bring more tourists to Mobile and Baldwin Counties,” he said, adding that a regional advertising strategy would benefit both counties.
The Advisory Commission
The Alabama Coastal Development Commission that vetted and approved the projects included representatives from across the coastal region’s tourism and business sectors. Members included Marion Laney of the West Bay and Gulf Coast Tourism Council, William E. Barrick of Bellingrath Gardens, Baldwin County Probate Judge Tim Russell, Herb Malone of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, Melissa Morrissette of the Mobile Area Association of Realtors, and Sheila Hodges of Meyer Real Estate.
The approved funds were expected to be dispersed through early 2012, providing a sustained boost to the region’s tourism marketing efforts during a critical period of recovery.