When it comes to versatility and unique destinations, Baldwin County is the heart of colliding cultures and adventures for all ages.
In April, TripAdvisor reviewers ranked Gulf Shores one of 13 “hidden gem” destinations for its pristine beaches and kid-friendly environment.
Ashlee Centrella with the business development at TripAdvisor explains the reason for the list and how places across the United States were chosen.
“We wanted to look at up-and-coming vacation destinations and focused our attention on those places that may not get as much public recognition, but received high public praise on our travel site,” Centrella says.
TripAdvisor looked at all 2014 vacation rental review scores across the country and identified the top 13 smaller destinations that received the highest ratings and best reviews.
“As far as criteria goes, we looked at locations that had more than 500 audience reviews and each review is rated out of a possible 5 total score.” Centrella says.
Gulf Shores made the list with a score of 4.29. Our local beach was among other cities such as Taos, New Mexico — highest score of 4.77; Boone, North Carolina; Oceanside, California; Fort Myers, Florida; and more.
“Trip advisor is incredibly important because a lot of people go to TripAdvisor to understand the market to plan where they’re coming to visit,” says Joanie Flynn, vice president of marketing for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism. “So it’s good for attracting new customers, but it’s also good for people that already know the city and it confirms for them it is a good market and they’ll continue to visit.”
It’s true; when any small city starts to grow, there are visitors that don’t like it. It attracts more visitors, more traffic, just more to deal with.
“But really, we like being on awards lists,” Flynn says. “These companies recognize different aspects of our community. We have a top five fishing destination, sports events, leisure traveler and other awards from respected media outlets.”
Gulf Shores received affordability recognition from Mashable, which named the beach town one of “8 unique summer vacations that won’t break the bank.”
Flynn explains that in 2014, the city started to track and promote the industry partners, such as Waterville receiving the internationally-recognized award of “31 ridiculously cool waterparks to visit with your kids” and The Hangout Fest receiving numerous awards.
“We don’t campaign for these things,” Flynn says, “people are just researching and finding us and what we have to offer.”
There is one particular award that both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach received last year and this year that seem to take precedent over the others: water samples.
“Both cities send samples of beach water to the National Resource Defense Council, and they analyze those samples and give a 5-star rating to beaches. We’ve been on that list twice — two years running. Picture after the BP oil spill and then to be able to get up on a list like this when there’s only 13 beaches in the country on it.”
This helps in a massive way to overcome any concerns someone may have about the impact of oil on the beaches and in the water.
Receiving a few awards draws extra exposure and attention to the area, it invites people to come see the beaches and return again that have visited before.
“We find that once an award is received, media sources come out and ask ‘why?’” Flynn says. “Other media pick it up and further promote the area.”
Also, with the Gulf Coast being noticed, Gulf Shores and surrounding cities are being considered more for different types of awards.
“Winning awards makes the area feel more proud of itself and extend that warm, Southern hospitality,” Flynn says. “It also shows how far we’ve come. Look back after Hurricane Ivan and the huge rebuilding, after the oil spill and a huge reconstituting of our audience. To know you’re getting these awards shows people have taken notice, paid attention and shout it from the rooftops themselves. And I think it helps us feel supported through all that.”
Flynn says the awards also raises the bar for the community and area.
“More of this is going to happen and we’ve got to keep innovating and creating new aspects to this destination,” she says. “Sometimes the awards help our first-time guests do more — Waterville for example. Potentially more visitors will come to the park as a result of being on that list of internationally-recognized parks. People will add more items to their bucket list.”
The recognitions on the lists broaden people’s perspective of the Gulf Coast area.
“It’s nice to see the area being recognized for its authenticity and many features, being recognized for what it is,” Flynn says.
These awards help us to underscore something we’ve been trying to promote — affordability, best beaches, spots to visit, best restaurants, music festivals, golfing, attractions, fishing — the list is endless.”
2015 Awards and Honors
Destination honors
• Illinois Outdoors named Gulf Shores and Orange Beach among its top five fishing destinations for 2015.
• The Gulf Shores Orange Beach Sports Commission received a SportsEvents 2015 Readers’ Choice Award for high quality professionalism and service in hosting athletic events.
• USA Today readers voted Gulf Shores into the No. 3 spot for the “10Best small coastal towns” list.
• The Annual National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores landed on the “America’s 15 best small-town festivals” list by acclaimed travel resource, Fodor’s.
• The Culture Trip included Gulf Shores on its “10 most beautiful towns in Alabama” list. Other Baldwin County areas featured were Fairhope and Magnolia Springs.
• Gulf Shores is one of the “14 best small beach towns in America,” according to Thrillist.
• Country Living’s Facebook fans ranked Gulf Shores as one of the 20 “most charming beach towns across America.”
• Gulf Shores received affordability recognition from Mashable, which named the beach town one of “8 unique summer vacations that won’t break the bank.”
• The BuzzFeed Community chose Gulf Shores as one of 27 “underrated U.S. vacation spots you should visit before you die.”
• CheapFlights included Gulf Shores in its “beachin’ on a budget” list of 10 affordable beach vacations around the nation.
• TripAdvisor reviewers ranked Gulf Shores one of 13 “hidden gem” destinations for its pristine beaches and kid-friendly entertainment.
Industry partner honors
• Family Vacation Critic named The Beach Club in Gulf Shores among its top 10 family beach resorts for 2015, giving the resort the “Family Vacation Critic Favorite” status.
• Hangout Music Festival landed the top spot on Fox News’ “6 best music festivals this spring” along with other popular festivals such as Primavera Sound in Spain and Coachella in California.
• The Environmental Education Association of Alabama named Ocean Camp the “Best Community Environmental Education Project” for its dedication to creatively teaching about marine life through a hands-on approach.
• BuzzFeed rated Waterville USA in Gulf Shores as one of “31 ridiculously cool water parks to visit with your kids” alongside internationally-recognized parks such as Beijing’s Happy Magic Water Cube and South Padre Island’s Schlitterbahn.
• Hangout Music Festival took the top spot on Mashable’s list of “5 music festivals to turn into full-fledged vacations.”
• The Huffington Post recognized Hangout Music Festival as more than just a music festival, but as an experience, calling the festival a “music paradise.”
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