Beach Tourist Season A Bust?

Tracy Taranto and her mother, Lee Aldridge won't be visiting Gulf Shores as much as they would like to this summer.

"Our trips are definitely fewer and far between," says Aldridge.

"It's a couple hundred dollars to go somewhere, add that with your hotel and it gets pricey," says Taranto. "I just don't have the money to go down and take a weekend, it can get expensive and it's not as easy as it used to be."

High gas prices and a slumping economy could keep families closer to home this summer. But that could be good news for tourism officials along the Gulf Coast.

"Rather than flying off to some exotic place like the Carribbean or the Rocky Mountains, families will be staying closer to home and they can come here and get everything they need and want here on Pleasure Island," says Herb Malone with the Alabama Gulf Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau.

"Sure it's going to cost a few hundred dollars in gas to get home and back, but this is a value and drive market," says Stan Szapiel with Caribe Resort. "And everyone needs a vacation. Families need vacation time, it's good for the mind and for the soul."

Last year, 4.7 million people visited Pleasure Island last year, bring in over two billion dollars in revenue. Tourism officials hope the 2008 summer tourist season will be just as profitable.