MOBILE, Ala. — One Causeway attraction is among four local draws being promoted in the inaugural GoMobile Bay! Free Attractions Pass.

USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park joins Bellingrath Gardens and Home in south Mobile County, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the Gulf Coast Exploreum in the heart of downtown Mobile in the promotion, designed to boost traffic to these and surrounding attractions.

Kesshia Davis, director of communications for the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the program — made possible by a grant through BP PLC — offers free admittance to the “historic, engaging and educational” attractions if patrons book a stay at participating hotels, bed and breakfasts or vacation rentals.

With an estimated savings of $100 per person, the pass grants tourists access to either two or four of the participating attractions, depending on the length of their stays. The deal expires Dec. 31.

Karen Conner, director of sales and marketing for the military museum park, said the Mobile Bay area has needed a directed tourism boost of this nature for some time, and they’re thrilled to be included in the packages.

“We know that once they’re in this area, they’re going to see how much we have to offer, and this program is a great starting point,” Conner said, noting the possibilities for expanding the program — especially farther into Baldwin County — are enormous.

“There are going to be some kinks that need to be worked out, but down the road we’re looking at offering a program like this for snow birds, this same sort of attractions pass but adding more options to it. We hope this is a program we can continue to build on,” she said.

Davis said the Free Attractions Pass aims to not only provide visitors with a little something extra for choosing the area as a vacation destination but to also encourage them to “spend time discovering the Mobile Bay area’s other attractions like historic homes; museums; sightseeing tours; eco- and water-based activities; a vibrant, colorful downtown loaded with restaurants and cafes, galleries and shops; and other wonderful experiences found throughout the entire region.”

5 Rivers involvement

Hank Burch, manager of 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center, said the Battleship’s proximity to the environmental education center could certainly mean increased traffic for sites all along the Causeway and further into Baldwin County.

“I do think that we could benefit from anything that brings more folks to the Causeway,” Burch said, but he also noted that the state-run facility charges no admission, so cross-promotion between the sites might not yield any traffic he could track.

“Usually, a marketing campaign leverages a reduced fee for something in exchange for visibility to a larger crowd. It’s hard to put a discount on free, so we’re usually not a factor. I do see an opportunity to tie in our tour-boat operation or perhaps discount coupons for our gift shop to a campaign like this,” he said, noting fee-based outdoor Baldwin County attractions like Historic Blakeley State Park, Meaher State Park, Alligator Alley or even the Gulf Coast Zoo might be more successful tying into the program.

For more information on the program, visit mobilebay.org/gomobile.