Let Talk about Tourism January 2022

By Martin Owen | Owner, Owen Organization | https://www.owenorganization.com/

Happy New Year! I hope you had a very happy holiday season and despite the ongoing world disruption I wish you every success and happiness in 2022.

I was talking to an old friend today, who has also been in the tourism business all of his career.  He lives in Guernsey, which is a small island – part of the United Kingdom – just off the coast of France.  We were talking all things travel and tourism and he assumed that our visitor business here on the Gulf Coast was suffering as tourism is worldwide.  I was happy to report that despite issues with the pandemic, most areas of our coast from The Big Bend through the Florida Panhandle and to South Alabama, have had two pretty good years of visitor numbers.  Some beach areas have actually had record years. We discussed the reasons why and what sets us apart from many vacation areas.

Of course, the Northern Gulf Coast is primarily a market to where visitors drive themselves, so it’s easier than other methods of travel.  Also, in Florida particularly, restrictions on gathering and mask wearing have been much more relaxed than elsewhere. Of course, domestic flying has continued and many visitors have taken advantage of the new routes into the area. All this has kept demand high and as a result hotels and rental properties have been able to keep occupancy levels high and they have not had to resort to discounts to attract vacationers. Quite the contrary, rates have remained high.

The downsides are that although we have the customers, we don’t have the industry workers to handle the numbers.  Hospitality companies of all types have had to cope both with staff leaving (for many reasons) and of course from their employees being ill and having to isolate. One could say that for us, the pandemic has given with one hand and taken away with the other.

Finding hospitality staff in our area was a problem before the pandemic. The very seasonal nature of our visitation meant that many hospitality employees struggled to find year-round work. That is changing, albeit slowly, as the various tourism bodies along the coast are implementing management polices to alter both the times of visitation and the spending habits of those arriving. The pandemic itself has changed tourism patterns as people are more able to work remotely. This allows travel throughout the year not just in the summer months. A slow transition true, but it is happening.

However, a further issue arises with accommodating all the workers the industry needs to handle the visitors.  Few tourism workers can afford to live actually in the resort areas where they work – always assuming that property is available.  This is not restricted to our beach resorts. Many ski resorts across the country (indeed across the world) have a similar issue. Property is at a premium both on availability and cost.  Some of the ski resorts have begun to create specific accommodation for their workers. Affordable housing within easy commute of the resorts. Perhaps that’s something the coast areas of the Gulf could look at?

We have another factor that adds to our industry employee accommodation woes.  Here on the Northern Coast, we are blessed with the other major contributor to our economies, the Military.  We have a plethora of Military bases right along the coast and the members of the forces also need accommodation.  This can be both short and long term, and has a major effect on the availability of housing.  The Military often pay for part or all of housing costs and their funds tend to be higher than the tourism industry can afford.

It’s a conundrum that will require serious thought over the coming years, but one that cannot be ignored.