MOBILE, Ala. — Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson announced Thursday his initiative aimed at making Mobile an international tourist destination, revealing the city is in the final stages of a deal to bring a Carnival Cruise lines back to the Port City.
Stimpson took an economic development trip to Miami, where he posted a photo on his Facebook in front of Carnival’s headquarters. “Now how will I fit this in my suitcase,” Stimpson wrote in his caption of the photo.
The Carnival Cruise Lines removed its port stop from Mobile in 2011, leaving the $26 million Alabama Cruise Terminal inactive for the past four years. According to city officials, the cruises ported in Mobile were netting only $1 million a year.
Stimpson says bringing a cruise ship back to Mobile “will create jobs in the hospitality industry, grow visitor numbers and hotel room nights and increase tax revenue for the City.”
Mayor Stimpson announced the agreement reached with Carnival Cruise Lines on Thursday afternoon in a press conference upon his arrival back in Alabama.
Mayor Stimpson also announced the deal with Carnival on Twitter.
I am proud to share with you today: We are in the final stages of contract negotiations with Carnival for future cruises from Mobile.
— Mayor Sandy Stimpson (@MayorStimpson) September 3, 2015
https://twitter.com/MayorStimpson/status/639501738836369408https://twitter.com/MayorStimpson/status/639501860181803009
We expect this process to be concluded by the end of the month.
— Mayor Sandy Stimpson (@MayorStimpson) September 3, 2015
https://twitter.com/caseycappa/status/634418932192030720
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