Travel Trends: The Growing Shoulder Season

Summer is still king along Alabama's beaches, but the traditional summer season no longer tells the whole story. Across the travel industry, more travelers are choosing to vacation outside the busiest weeks of the year, drawn by better value, fewer crowds, greater flexibility, and ideal weather. Our area is particularly well positioned to benefit from that shift. Average daily highs are still around 85 degrees in September and 78 degrees in October, making fishing, golfing, biking, hiking, and other outdoor activities especially appealing. Restaurants and attractions remain open, beaches are less crowded, and spring offers many of the same advantages, with warm weather arriving earlier here than in much of the country.

Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (GSOBT) has promoted the area as a destination beyond the traditional summer vacation for years, working to attract sporting events, tournaments, and festivals and giving guests a reason to come year-round.

Sports Tourism Is Filling Rooms

Sports tourism has become an important part of our year-round visitor economy, bringing athletes, families and spectators to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach for baseball, softball, soccer, track and field, beach volleyball, fishing, running and other competitions.

In 2024, Alabama's Beaches Sports & Events hosted 138 events that generated 132,144 room nights and $86.82 million in economic impact. Through October 2025, another 127 events had already produced 107,596 room nights and $71.24 million in economic impact. Many of those room nights occur outside the traditional peak summer season.

Spring is a great example. Gulf Coast Classic baseball and softball tournaments held in March 2025 generated more than 9,300 room nights on their own. The AVCA Small College Beach Volleyball National Championships added another 921 room nights in April, and the NCAA National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship generated 1,833 room nights in May.

These aren't simply athletes coming to compete. Teams travel with parents, siblings, coaches, and spectators who need places to stay, eat, and spend time between games. Many turn a tournament trip into a "sportcation," adding beach time and other activities to their stay.

Events Give Travelers Another Reason to Come

Festivals and special events are doing the same thing.

Fall now brings a steady calendar of events including Freedom Fest, Bama Coast Cruisin', Jeep Fest, the National Shrimp Festival, Meeting of the Minds and the Frank Brown International Songwriters' Festival. The scale can be significant. The National Shrimp Festival draws roughly 250,000 people over its four-day October run, bringing an enormous influx of visitors to Gulf Shores well outside the traditional summer vacation season. Spring has developed its own event calendar, with the Orange Beach Festival of Art, Ballyhoo Festival, The Wharf Boat & Yacht Show, beach volleyball championships, concerts, and numerous sporting events giving travelers additional reasons to head south before summer begins.

For vacation rental owners, extending the season matters. Every family that comes for a March baseball tournament, every couple that plans an October festival weekend, and every traveler who discovers the beach may be even more enjoyable outside July represents demand during a period that historically was harder to fill.