Reports - Mississippi Renewal

THE GOVERNOR’S COMMISSION REPORT | 81■ Charter Fishing: The Gulf Coast CharterBoat Association reports that only10 percent of fishing boats were lost;however, many public piers and marinaswere destroyed. The lack of fuelstorage and hotel rooms has kept theindustry from quickly rebounding. 8■ Golf: This $100 million industrymay be the leader of the tourismindustry’s recovery. Although severalcourses suffered major damage,and at least two may not reopen, theCoast Golf Association reports 14courses (nearly 90 percent) will beoperational by January 2006, just intime for the “snowbird” season. 9 Thelack of hotel rooms and promotionalfunds, however, will be a threat totheir success.■ Mississippi Coast Coliseum and-Convention Center: This facility sufferedmajor flood and wind damageand expects reopening in six to 12months, forcing the cancellation ofseveral events including the MississippiSea Wolves’ hockey season andgames of the new Arena FootballLeague team.■ Retirement: The temporary loss ofthe gaming industry, the destructionof several museums, and the loss ofseveral senior citizen centers will adverselyaffect the ability to draw theretirees or the senior tourism marketfor at least a year.■ Barrier Islands: Ship Island and theother barrier islands that have longbeen popular attractions were washedover by the hurricane. Structureswere destroyed, and the islands lostsurface area.■ Eco-Tourism: A growing industry inThe Gulf Coasthas been a keytourist destinationand stateeconomicdriver.■ Of the state’s 30.7million visitors in 2004,37 percent came tothe Gulf Coast.■ Tourists in the Gulf regionspent $1.9 billion in 2004.■ Prior to Katrina, expertspredicted more than 12million visitors wouldspend $2.5 billion onthe Gulf Coast in 2006.Sources:Mississippi Development AuthorityMississippi Gulf Coast,Convention & Visitors BureauMississippi, particularly in the PascagoulaRiver basin, along the Wolf andJourdan Rivers, on Turkey Creek, andamong the barrier islands, eco-tourismcan recover quickly despite noticeableenvironmental damage fromHurricane Katrina. Opening hotelsand Highway 90, however, is necessarybefore eco-tourists return.■ Employment: Loss of casinos, hotels,restaurants, and attractions helpedcatapult the coastal counties’ unemploymentrate from an average of 5percent before the storm to over 20percent afterwards. Most industrysectors, including tourism, will face alack of trained workers because thehousing shortage has forced many ofthem to leave the area. 11Beginning a ComebackOne of the first analyses of Katrina’simpact on the South Mississippi economycame in the September 2005 PrécisMetro© Report by Moody’s|Economy.com, Inc. The report predicted a 48 percentdrop in third-quarter employmentand a net out-migration of 45,000 people.The report warned that employmentin the region might not return topre-Katrina levels until 2010. 11Much has happened since those reportswere written immediately followingthe storm, and the actual conditionsare not as gloomy as the Précis© analysisdescribes. Unemployment figures forSeptember and October, for instance,are well below the report’s estimates,and city sales tax collections are aheadof projections for September and October.12 Nevertheless, those early, dire predictionswill be remembered by the restof the nation until the Précis© reportsare updated in March 2006.The Mississippi Legislature took the