Gov. Ivey Helps Announce Boost In State Tourism, Responds To “Boycott Alabama” Calls After Signing Abortion Bill
Things are looking up for the tourism industry in Alabama, according to newly released figures from the Alabama Tourism department that show growth, especially in the Capital City.
Governer Kay Ivey and Tourism Director Lee Sentell presented the stats Monday morning.
Officials say one million more visitors passed through the state last year, and the travel industry grew by 1.2 billion dollars. Last year, the state’s tourism industry grew by 8.5 percent and nearly double that in Montgomery County.
Sentell says much of the increase is thanks to the Equal Justice Initiatives’ lynching memorial downtown. “For any major county to be up 15% its staggering” explained Sentell “the EJI is responsible for a lot of that, people are coming from all over the country all over the world”.
The tourism announcement comes in the midst of calls to #BoycottAlabama on social media, after Governor Ivey signed the strictest abortion ban in the country into law last week. Still, Ivey said Monday she does not think the ban will hurt state tourism or industrial recruitment. When asked if she’s had any recent push back from big businesses in response to the bill she replied “no, I have not and don’t expect to”.
The Governor added “Alabama has a lot of type of variety and different types of things to visit and enjoy, and our visitors are going to continue to come”.
Governor Ivey also responded to more questions about her decision to sign the controversial ban into law, despite lawmakers decision not to amend the bill to include exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Ivey says the state’s new abortion ban reflects Alabamians’ value for the “sanctity of life”.
