As Labor Day weekend closes out the summer season, tourism figures out of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach suggest Alabama’s Gulf Coast could be headed for its fourth consecutive record-breaking year. Sales and lodging tax collections through much of the summer are running well ahead of last year’s pace in both beach communities, even as officials caution it’s too early to declare a formal record.
The president of the local tourism authority, which markets both cities collectively, said June and July already produced record-setting tax collections, with August figures still being finalized. His office often uses early summer performance as a barometer for how the full year will shake out, and this year’s numbers have been consistently strong.
In Orange Beach, sales tax collections climbed more than 11 percent through late August compared to the same stretch in 2013, adding more than $600,000 in additional revenue. Lodging tax collections in the city rose nearly 10 percent over the same period, translating into an additional $647,948 collected.
Gulf Shores posted more modest but still positive sales tax growth, up 5 percent through the end of July compared to the prior year. Lodging tax collections in Gulf Shores, however, slipped by roughly 5 percent, a dip tourism officials attribute largely to a March court ruling that stripped the city of jurisdiction over a 19-mile stretch of annexed land on the Fort Morgan peninsula. That land, dotted with condos and rental homes, reverted to Baldwin County’s control, cutting off the city’s ability to collect lodging tax revenue there. Tourism officials argue that without that ruling, Gulf Shores’ lodging tax collections likely would have shown growth rather than a decline.
Month-by-month data shows the pattern clearly: Orange Beach sales tax revenue rose in May, June, and July compared to 2013, with May showing the strongest year-over-year jump. Gulf Shores saw a similar spring surge, though June sales tax collections dipped slightly compared to the previous year before rebounding in July.
Looking ahead to the holiday weekend itself, property management companies along the coast are reporting strong demand. One of the coast’s largest rental companies said bookings across its roughly 2,000 managed properties were running about 10 percent ahead of last year, with occupancy potentially reaching 95 percent as the weekend crowds arrive. Rental managers urged any procrastinating travelers to lock in reservations quickly given the tightening availability.
If the strong pace holds through the Labor Day weekend and into the final tally, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach would extend a multi-year streak of tourism growth that has become an increasingly important economic engine for Baldwin County, supporting everything from municipal budgets to the broader service economy along the coast.