Alabama Tourism Award Winners - Designing Alabama's Future

Alabama Tourism Award Winners - Designing Alabama's Future: "The 2009 Alabama Tourism Awards were presented Tuesday night at a black-tie awards ceremony at the Marriott Grand Hotel in Point Clear as part of the Alabama Governor's Conference on Tourism. Tourism leaders and representatives from throughout the state along with First Lady Patsy Riley attended the awards banquet. The tourism awards honor outstanding achievements in the state's tourism industry. Each winner is recognized as a key player in making tourism a strong economic force in the state. Tourism contributed $9.6 billion to Alabama's economy in 2008 and supported 170,000 jobs statewide. An estimated 22 million people visited the state last year."