Let’s Talk About Tourism
By Martin Owen
There have been changes in tourism here along the Northern Gulf Coast. They are subtle, but you may have noticed them all the same. Those changes are going to continue, too.
First of all, remember Snow Birds? They come from the northern states of the USA and Canada, where it gets cold in winter. Traditionally they come to our part of the world for at least part of the winter. It used to be that they would arrive just before, or just after, Christmas and the New Year—and stay between a month to three months. The birds are great for the area because they bring us tourist dollars during what has always been a slow season. They keep many of the restaurants open, and by extension, keep jobs going throughout the year. Many of the snowbirds consider this as much ‘home’ as they do their summer bases up in the north. I once spoke to a couple of winter visitors who said they felt the birds actually lived here, but just spent summer ‘up there’ to get away from the heat!
However those Snowbirds are getting younger—not in age, obviously, but in attitude. They are now part of the Boomer Generation, and many consider themselves zoomers—boomers with zip. These are the folks that want variety and a certain amount of adventure. Consequently, they are more likely to have a number of winter trips rather than just one long one. They may spend a month here, but also a month in South Florida or even make an extended stopover en route to here, or on the way back. There is a good chance that they’ll want to experience more varied restaurants and activities than previous generations of snowbirds did.
The other major change is the reduction of the 100 days of summer to about 60 days. In the past, schools closed around Memorial Day and went back after Labor Day, but with school semesters ending later and starting earlier that three-month vacation is more likely two months. If you struggled with the traffic on our local roads this summer, it may not feel like it, but rest assured it’s happening.
Talking about traffic, there are more people flying into our destinations than before. That’s the result of new routes being provided by airlines like Allegiant, Southwest, and the so-called Legacy airlines: Delta, American and United. Many travelers would rather fly to the their vacation and then rent a car, or use Uber and Lyft, than drive over ten hours to arrive. It gives them at least two more days actually vacationing.
Outside of the school vacation periods, we’re seeing more people visiting without children. These are people known as DINKS (Dual Income No Kids) or the Empty Nesters, whose children have graduated and left home. They are coming for the experiences of fishing, eating and shopping. They tend to take more trips a year than the summer travelers and they tend to spend more. They extend our vacation season into the fall and spring. This is the time, we locals like because it’s cooler, less humid, and less crowded—it’s the Prime Season.
So, our crazy busy season is getting shorter, but we’re spreading higher spending tourists over the rest of the year. It keeps the tourist businesses open and tends to create year-round jobs.
What about the future? Virtually all our local tourism organizations: the Convention and Visitors Bureaus (CVBs) are going after new markets, like the Mid West and the North East. Again, they encourage high spending tourists to visit outside the traditional mid summer period. Some are looking at encouraging international tourists, initially Canadians and Europeans. Internationals tend to come at different times than the domestic folks. They stay longer and spend more. This is a long-term aim of course, as attracting internationals takes years creating relationships and awareness. Ultimately, I can see that we will attract Indian and Chinese visitors too, although that could be 10 years away. You’ve got to start now though! Nothing stays the same, and our tourism industry is constantly developing and adapting, just like the visitors we attract.
In other news—talking about adapting and changing—the world oldest travel agency is 260 years old this year. Happy birthday Cox & Kings! Formed back in 1758 by Richard Cox—with the aim of helping military folks travel—the company predates both Thomas Cook in the UK, and the oldest US Tour operator, Brownell Travel. Cox & Kings are still going strong, and now sell vacations to all seven continents including Antarctica. And I thought I’d been in the travel business a long time…