Beau Rivage Casino bringing more plane loads of tourists to South Mississippi
BILOXI -- Beau Rivage Resort & Casino already brings two planes a day into and out of Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and is expanding its program to additional cities and more people who have never been to South Mississippi.
Those who fly to the Coast stay for three days, so every night 650 to 700 people are helping fill the 1,740 guest rooms at the Beau Rivage.
They also are visiting local restaurants and shops, the baseball stadium and renting cars to explore South Mississippi, said Brandon Dardeau, vice president of marketing at the Beau Rivage.
Some receive their trip as a casino comp, but others pay for flight and room packages.
"In many cases these people don't play any slots," Dardeau said.
In 2014 the casino's partnership with Sun Country Airlines amounted to 20 percent of total enplanements at Gulfport, said airport executive director Clay Williams. That percentage grew to 22 percent last year and this year the program will expand from 60 cities to 70 or 80. What's really beneficial from a tourism standpoint is MGM Resorts has expanded to points farther out, he said, in the Northeast and Midwest.
"We really looked at new markets this year," said Troy Douglas, executive director of national marketing, who started the program at the Beau Rivage and continues to manage it.
Pittsburgh is one of the new areas along with Boston, Newark and Buffalo,, N.Y., Hartford, Conn.; Des Moines and Dubuque, Iowa; Green Bay, Wis., Rochester, Minn., Allentown and Harrisburg, Pa., and Huntsville, Ala. One of the requirements is the airport has to have a runway that can accommodate the Sun Country plane.
The guests fly on a dedicated Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737 that seats 126, including 12 in first class.
This time of year the Beau Rivage program entices people to South Mississippi with the promise of the casino's Fallen Oak Golf Club in markets where there is still snow on the golf courses. They also play up the beaches and the beauty of the Coast.
The charter flight program involves almost every department on property, and Dardeau said, "We get great reviews."
One person wrote on a travel review site how they didn't have to bother with luggage when the arrived in Gulfport or check-in at the hotel. They check their bag when they arrive at their home airport and don't see it again until it's in their room. Three buses provided by Hotard -- two of them wrapped with Beau Rivage images -- pick them up at the airport and make the quick trip down the beach or the interstate to the casino. Once there, a package is ready for each guest with information and their room key. The whole plane of people are in their rooms in 15 to 20 minutes.
About 600 flights are planned this year with a trip about four times a year from the various airports.
When these guests see the size and scope of the Beau Rivage and experience the Southern hospitality, "People are wowed by it," Dardeau said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Beau Rivage Casino bringing more plane loads of tourists to South Mississippi ."