by Steve Alexander
Published: Tue, March 03, 2009 - 8:38 pm CST
Last Updated: Tue, March 03, 2009 - 8:56 pm CST
The USS Alabama Battleship is looking for ways to boost attendance.The Alabama Tourism Department said the battleship ranked sixth in the state among Alabama tourist attractions in 2008.
Officials with the USS Alabama said more than 228,000 people visited the ship in 2008.
That's up from 2007, but behind the average number of visitors before Hurricane Katrina.
Executive Director Bill Tunnell said, "I-10 traffic has really diminished over that period of time, especially even after (Hurricane) Ivan because all the Florida beaches were destroyed after Ivan."
However, Tunnell said he's encouraged by attendance so far this year.
He said, "Our January was the best January we've had since 1993. We spent an awful lot of time and effort trying to entice our snowbird friends from the Alabama beaches and the Florida beaches to come see us during that time."
Tunnel said because of the economic downturn, many visitors are coming from cities close to Mobile.
Stephanie Scruggs and her family are visiting from Pensacola, Florida.
Scruggs said, "We've driven past it (the battleship) I don't know how many times. We have family in from Michigan and we brought them down to see it as well."
The battleship is also updating its marketing strategy with a new billboard.
Tunnell said, "You're going to see a mother and a daughter standing in front of the battleship because now we know and everybody else knows that the women are the predominant decision maker in travel plans."
Battleship officials said the economy has also cut down slightly on the number of school students taking field trips.
But we met Paul Donaldson and his wife who home-school their two children in Tallahassee, Florida.
Donaldson said, "We saw the battleships and all the planes and the submarines."
Paul's son, Chase Donaldson, said he especially liked flying an airplane in an airplane simulator.
He said, "I didn't even know my knees were wobbling."
Battleship officials said they'll keep updating their attractions.
A new Coast Guard boat is expected to arrive in the next thirty days.
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