From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
Alabama
Orange Beach: Beach season is heating up, and the coastal region is getting federal money to help recover from tourism losses caused by the pandemic. The Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration said Thursday that it will provide the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau with $800,000 for a marketing program. The money will be combined with $200,000 in local funding. The agency is helping communities nationwide implement programs to counter economic hardships amid the pandemic, said Dennis Alvord, acting assistant secretary for economic development. “This investment will fund a strategic, multi-faceted marketing campaign designed to attract visitors to the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area, resulting in continuous economic growth and job creation,” he said in a statement. Officials hope to boost business and reclaim tourists who couldn’t visit during the COVID-19 shutdown, which included the closure of the state’s beaches a year ago, a problem made all the worse by damage from Hurricane Sally in September. Business owners have compared the loss to the fallout from the Gulf oil spill of 2010. Stores and restaurants have been bustling this spring, and residents hope business will improve even more since the state lifted its mask mandate and other restrictions Friday.