AL Gulf Coast Rebounding from Ivan

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) - Alabama beach resorts posted record
visitor spending on lodgings last year, bouncing back three years
after Hurricane Ivan left widespread wreckage on the coast.
Tourism officials hope high gas prices and a slide in the
national economy won't reverse those gains.
Next month will usher in student Spring Break and an ad campaign
promoting beach tourism.
According to figures released this week, winter tourism last
year on the Alabama Gulf grew by 4.2 percent over 2006; spring
increased nearly 18 percent; summer was up nearly 25 percent and
fall increased 13 percent.
But taxable retail sales - everything from groceries to building
supplies to souvenir sales - finished the year at $627 million -
down 1.8 percent.
Taxable lodging rentals for last year reached a record $237
million, up $39 million from 2006, according to data collected by
the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Tourism officials say the previous lodgings record on the
Alabama Gulf was set in 2004.