Gulf Coast Leisure and Hospitality Employment and Wages
"The leisure and hospitality industry makes an important contribution to the local economies along the Gulf Coast, providing a large share of their employment. Leisure and hospitality services include a wide variety of activities that attract tourists such as resorts, recreational parks, sporting events, concerts, restaurants, and hotel lodgings.

Not including bays and inland waters, the U.S. Gulf coastline spans approximately 1,631 miles. [1] The U.S. Gulf is bordered by five States (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). There are 53 counties and parishes that line the coast in these five States. (See table 2.) These areas are the most vulnerable to damages from the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Among these five States, Florida has the largest number of coastal counties at risk (23), followed by Texas (14), Louisiana (11), Mississippi (3), and Alabama (2). The leisure and hospitality industry in these coastal areas could be seriously affected by this recent disaster..."

Census Bureau Report Documents Rapid Expansion of Gulf Coast Population in Recent Decades
"Between 1960 and 2008, the population in coastline counties along the Gulf of Mexico soared by 150 percent, more than double the rate of increase of the nation's population as a whole. On the eve of hurricane season, this area now is home to nearly 14 million residents, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report issued today.

The report, Coastline Population Trends in the United States: 1960 to 2008, [PDF] examines population trends along the country's saltwater edges — coastline counties — and their shares of coastline states during the period. Specifically, it analyzes trends in the growth and decline, geographic distribution and density of the coastline population. It also incorporates historical data on the trajectories of hurricanes striking the U.S. coastlines to gauge the coastline population's experience with hurricanes..."