‘This is a tourism destination’: Baldwin County beaches make over 1/3 of Alabama tourism earnings

GULF SHORES, Ala. ( WKRG ) — Baldwin County is a prime spot for tourists in Alabama as officials say over a third of the state of Alabama’s tourism dollars were spent there in 2023.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism President and CEO, Beth Gendler, said that Baldwin County’s beaches account for 35% of state profit earned from tourism-related expenses.

“This is a tourism destination,” Gendler said. “Summer is our busiest time.”

In 2023, 6.5 million people visited Baldwin County beaches, spending a total of $6.7 billion in the year.

Gendler said that the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and Labor Day are some of the busiest times at the beach. She said that Gulf Shore’s annual Shrimp Festival is also noted as a heavy tourism traffic time.

However, that doesn’t mean the beach turns into a ghost town once the summer rush is over. Gendler said that Baldwin County beaches never really have an off-season.

“We’re busy all winter long, we have a lot of visitors who come down from the north who don’t want to be in the snow,” Gendler said.

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