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GulfQuest looks to hit 5,000 visitors' mark; Welcome Aboard Hospitality Days up next!
Oct 9, 2015
MOBILE, AL -- GulfQuest officials are pleased to announce that more than 4,600 people have visited GulfQuest since the grand opening festivities of late September. By the end of its third weekend in operation, officials expect to have had more than 5,000 visitors.
“In addition to our regular museum visitors, we are receiving frequent requests for facility rentals, with many bookings for holiday parties, professional association meetings and wedding receptions,” Diana Brewer, Marketing/PR Director said. “According to Missy Hartley, our Special Events/Groups Sales Director, only a few open dates remain for holiday parties in December, and she is getting calls daily from couples planning their weddings and from corporations. We have events booked into the fall of 2016, so, in Missy’s words, ‘events are rocking right along’.”
Next on the calendar for GulfQuest is a two-day “Welcome Aboard Hospitality Days” during which people who work in the hospitality industry (hotels, restaurants, visitor centers, welcome centers, coffee shops, taxi services) are invited to visit GulfQuest—at no cost—with proof of employment. “Welcome Aboard Hospitality Days” will take place Oct. 20-21.
“Hospitality workers are the front-line people when it comes to tourism,” Brewer said. “They interact, in some way, with every visitor. They are tourism’s best ambassadors. The more they know about what Mobile and, in our case, GulfQuest, have to offer, the better for all of us. We are really excited about letting them experience GulfQuest first-hand.”
Located on the Mobile River, GulfQuest is one of the only interactive maritime museums in the United States and the only museum in the world dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico. With 90 interactive exhibits, simulators, theaters and displays, GulfQuest is a “Signature Attraction” for the Gulf Coast and a major educational attraction for Mobile and the state of Alabama.
As of Oct. 1, educators have been able to book field trips, and according to Ilka Porter, Education Director, the first field trip is Oct. 29.
“This is what we’ve been working toward,” Porter said, “to have school groups in the museum every day! Right now we have almost 40 field trips booked, including a middle school group from Missouri. Teachers are super excited, so we are booking them as fast as we can.”