BILOXI — As the summer travel season approaches, Mississippi’s tourism businesses are facing a familiar challenge: not enough workers.

From shrimping boats to museums, employers across the state’s Gulf Coast are scrambling to fill short-term and seasonal positions — roles that are critical during the busiest months of the year.

According to a 2023 report from the National Federation of Independent Business, 55% of small business owners in the tourism industry are struggling to find qualified workers during peak seasons. Many are responding by offering more flexible schedules and higher wages, with 60% reporting wage increases or signing bonuses in an effort to stay competitive.

Short window, big need

Capt. Jenny Johnston, owner of Gulf Coast Eco Tours, said Mississippi’s peak tourism window is much shorter than most people realize.

“For Mississippi, our tourism season is actually very short — it’s the heaviest in June and July,” Johnston said. “That’s an eight-week period where all hands are on deck.”

Johnston runs a mix of bayou tours, food walks and ghost story experiences. She said staffing is one of her biggest annual struggles.

“It’s hard to find people who want part-time work that might grow into something more,” she said. “I usually look for college students with a theatrical background or folks with boating experience.”

Johnston said it’s a constant struggle across the tourism industry. Nearly 48% of tourism employers report retraining seasonal workers every year, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Thinking outside the season

Danielle Morgan, the executive director of the Mississippi Tourism Association, said many Mississippi tourism business owners are thinking outside of the box when adapting to seasonal fluctuations in business and labor.

“There are some ways that small businesses are getting creative — kind of figuring out ways to cross-train staff so they can shift those roles based on demand of what they’re doing in other times of the year, trying to expand their offerings beyond the peak season,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the best way to solve many issues surrounding the tourism industry is to grow it, providing more consistent visitation. The industry’s footprint is large and still growing.

“Last year, we had about 43 million visitors who spent $11.5  billion in the state,” Morgan said. “The overall impact was about $17.5 billion, and the industry supports more than 133,000 jobs. It’s our fourth-largest industry.”

But the workforce pipeline is shifting. Morgan said many seasonal employers have relied heavily on student labor, which is harder to come by. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the percentage of students seeking summer jobs has dropped by 15% in recent years.

“Every year, it seems like students are going back to school earlier and earlier,” she said. “That’s creating serious issues for seasonal attractions that count on student labor.”

Keeping the doors open

Museums across the state also depend on seasonal and volunteer labor to manage summer surges. David Houston, executive director of the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art in Biloxi, said they usually maintain a core staff of 10 to 11 workers and rely on local partnerships to meet demand for large events.

“We have events with up to 140 or 150 people,” Houston said. “Without volunteers, it would overwhelm our staff.”

Other groups — including personnel at Keesler Air Force Base — offer volunteer support, though Houston said the short stays of military families make long-term help difficult.

At Biloxi Cruise Company, which operates the Biloxi Shrimping Trip, owner Michael Moore said roughly 75% of his workforce is seasonal. He typically hires students in the summer months but said he also utilizes retirees looking for extra income.

David Graham, one of Moore’s returning workers, said he’s not reliant on the tip-based income from his service job at Biloxi Shrimping Trip thanks to his government pension and household income. He said that working for tips is the nature of the coast’s tourism industry.

“Tips are what they are — we always say that some days you’re the bug and some days you’re the windshield,” Graham said. “The key to this industry is engaging people, making them smile, making them laugh, making them feel special.”

He joined the service industry as a retiree to connect with tourists and locals alike.

“I really like being around people, especially the families we get on the boat. And the kids are just absolutely enthralled at holding a shrimp and a crab and a fish and it really puts a smile on their face — and that puts a smile on my face, too.”

For now, workers like Graham keep the heart of Mississippi’s tourism industry beating — sharing smiles, stories and the magic of the Gulf Coast with every boat ride. But as the seasons change, so too must the strategies that sustain them, ensuring these moments remain for summers to come.