The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Innovation Portal, Hatch Fairhope, and Innovate Alabama are partnering to launch a Coastal Alabama Ecotourism Pitch Competition in conjunction with the Bays and Bayous Symposium, January 12–14, 2027.
This competition is designed to support new and expanded ecotourism opportunities in Mobile and Baldwin counties. Applicants may propose a new ecotourism business idea or an expansion of an existing business to include, improve, or grow ecotourism-related services.
Ecotourism ideas may include nature-based tours, paddling or boating experiences, wildlife viewing, working waterfront experiences, cultural and heritage tourism, outdoor education, sustainable seafood experiences, guided field experiences, or other business concepts that connect people to coastal Alabama's natural resources, communities, and sense of place.
Applicants will submit a 1-to-3-minute video pitch describing their idea, the audience or market it would serve, how it would operate, and how it would contribute to ecotourism in coastal Alabama. Submissions should be practical, achievable, and connected to Mobile or Baldwin counties.
The top three applicants will be selected as finalists and invited to present their pitch during a special panel at the 2027 Bays and Bayous Symposium. Finalists will pitch their ideas before a panel of judges, and $40,000 in total prize funding will be distributed across the three finalists. Prize funding provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Applicants and interested parties are encouraged to review the Coastal Alabama Partnership Regional Ecotourism Plan for background, context, and inspiration. The plan provides a regional look at ecotourism opportunities in coastal Alabama and may help applicants think through how their ideas fit within broader efforts to strengthen nature-based tourism, local business development, and coastal stewardship. https://coastalalabama.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CAP-Regional-Ecotourism-Report-Final.pdf
More information about application deadlines, submission instructions, judging criteria, and finalist selection will be provided as the competition develops.
For questions, please contact:
Henry Perkins
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
hperkins@mobilebaynep.com
251-431-6455