Beach volleyball tournaments spike tourism in Gulf Shores

GULF SHORES, Ala. (WPMI) — Baldwin County beach tourism is getting a boost between the busy spring break and summer seasons. Gulf Shores is once again hosting the NCAA beach volleyball championship. The tournament gets underway on Friday. There are 16 NCAA Division 1 teams competing for the top spot. It was set to be played in Huntington Beach, California this year and next year, but the event returned to Alabama due to devastating wildfires. It will be played in Gulf Shores through 2031.

“We’ve been fortunate to have the beach volleyball national championship since its inception in 2016,” said Gulf Shores spokesman Grant Brown.

Gulf Shores has become a hot spot for hosting beach volleyball. Two weeks ago, the AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball Championship played there, and right now, junior nationals are in town competing next to the NCAA national championship. It’s not just volleyball, the state track championship is going on right now and next week Gulf Shores will host 56 teams in the regional softball Championship. These sports tourism events increasingly bridge the gap between busy times.

“This whole tourism world is changing. People have the opportunity to really come at different times of the year. So our bell curve, which used to be flat, and then really big in the summer, and then really bad in the winter, it’s flattening out like crazy,” said Brown.

“It means the workforce is stabilized, businesses stay healthy, and those are all very important things to our economy,” said Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism President and CEO Beth Gendler.

Gendler says inventory has grown leaps and bounds in the last two years with more than 1,000 new rental units being built at the beach. She says they’ve started the year strong and bookings through summer are on pace to match last year, even as the nation faces troubling economic news.

“They can come here, and they can stay in any number of accommodations. So, they can glamp in the Gulf State Park. They can stay in a hotel. They can stay in a condo. They can stay in a beach house so they’re able to share expenses with family members or multi-generational or friends, and so it makes our destination a perfect destination in those economic uncertain times,” said Gendler.

Starting Friday, you can go watch tournament games in person. Tickets start at $35. You can also watch at home. Every match will stream live on ESPN2, except for the national championship, which will air on ESPN. Saturday night Wes Loper performs on the town green in Gulf Shores for a free concert.

This week, Alabama announced tourists spent a record breaking $23.9 billion last year in the state. That’s more than double what was spent in 2014, according to the state tourism department. The lodging tax revenue generated $88 million for the state’s general fund . Without it, each household in Alabama would have to pay an additional $700 in taxes to maintain current services, according to tourism officials.