Baldwin tourism officials warn of increasing competition

GULF SHORES — While big crowds showed up at Baldwin County's beaches for spring break and will likely continue to do so this summer, tourism-related revenue is forecast to fall in large part because of a price war among accommodations providers, officials with the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau said last week.

'Shopping to the max'

"The consumers are very smart, and they're very educated, and they're shopping to the max," Leonard Kaiser, who owns one of the area's largest vacation rental management firms and serves as chairman of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the Gulf Shores City Council. "We're hoping to maintain occupancy, but the issue is the substantial discounting going on that's affecting our revenue."

The Convention and Visitors Bureau derives much of its budget from a 2 percent levy on lodgings in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, and the group's president, Herb Malone, said that although visitor numbers could be on par with those of years past, revenue will likely fall. The question, he said, is how much.

"Right now we're forecasting in our budget process about 8 percent," Malone said. "If (the decrease) stays single digits, we'll feel reasonably good."

Convention and Visitors Bureau statistics reflect the discounting. Except for a 41-cent increase this January, the average daily rate collected at rented condos has, since June 2007, been below that of the same month during the previous year. Hotel rates are also down. In February, for instance, the daily rate was $55.56, down $31.28 from the average rate in February 2008. Malone said that he attended a tourism conference last week where one of the themes of the discussion was how price trumps brand with today's vacationers.

Increasing competition

"People will change a brand in a heartbeat to save dollars; they'll even change a destination if they can save dollars," Malone said. "The competition is not just internally between ourselves; our competition with our neighbors to the east is greater than it's ever been."

Key to ensuring that Baldwin County maintains its 24.7 percent market share among the five Florida Panhandle counties with which it competes is for the area to keep hosting events that compel vacationers to choose Alabama over its neighbors, Malone said. The Widespread Panic concerts last weekend, the Interstate Mullet Toss this weekend and various athletic tournaments throughout the year are examples, he said.

Additionally, the Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to spend $1.9 million in its 2009 marketing campaign, pitching the area and offering promotions through numerous Web sites and print publications.