South Mississippi has "eco tourism" opportunity
Posted: Nov 21, 2011 6:17 PM EST Updated: Nov 24, 2011 6:44 PM EST
By Steve Phillips - bio | email
BILOXI, MS (WLOX) -
Eco-tourism is a growing segment of the tourism industry worldwide. South Mississippi is certainly in a good position to take advantage of the eco-tourism trend that connects visitors to the outdoors.
An abundance of outdoor attractions is a great way to entice more visitors.
"Mother Nature is the tourist attraction for South Mississippi," said Dr. Mark Lasalle, "And particularly the Pascagoula River," he added.
Dr. Lasalle said there's a growing appetite among visitors to seek out and enjoy outdoor experiences when they travel.
"There's a lot of outdoor enthusiasts, young and old alike interestingly enough. Particularly a lot of retirees who want to get out and walk around. We had some here today. We get them all the time. And they're looking particularly for places where they can come and see lots of opportunity for that," said the Director of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center.
Gulf Islands National Seashore offers such opportunities.
"Our campground here at Davis Bayou is full just about year round, so people love coming and getting here in the out of doors and camping out, you bet," said Park Superintendent Dan Brown.
The Superintendent of Gulf Islands said eco-tourism is a perfect fit for what the park service has to offer.
"People love their national parks. They love Gulf Islands National Seashore. And they love coming and enjoying the out of doors here," said Brown.
Count this California visitor among the "eco tourists".
"We love it. It's very important to see nature and see the walking trails. It's wonderful. The sigh seeing, what's available. Nature. Just being out here in the beautiful weather. It's great," said the visiting Jim Squire.
The creation of a network of trails along the Mississippi Gulf Coast is another way to attract "eco tourists".
"We're hoping that all types of trails will have an economic benefit for the Mississippi Gulf Coast, via tourism and eco-tourism especially. Sort of a low impact tourism," said Liz Smith-Incer, who works for the National Park Service and is developing that series of trails in South Mississippi.
There's certainly no shortage of woods and waters to attract and impress such visitors.
The Pascagoula River and Gulf Islands National Seashore are just two of the "eco-tourism" attractions in South Mississippi.
The Mississippi Sound, the barrier islands and various marshes and bayous are also the kind of outdoor environments that can attract visitors interested in nature.
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