The Sandy Retreat hotel opened in 1954, followed by El Padre in 1956 and the Sea Island in 1957. The town itself wasn't incorporated until 1973, prompted by a growing community that wanted law enforcement beyond the sheriff's department and better infrastructure, such as paved roads, Cunningham said. South Padre Mayor Ed Cyganiewicz said economic development began in earnest in the 1980s, when most of the major hotels and condominiums went up along the beach. They started coming a number of years ago for just its natural beauty. Most of that construction is related to the island's growing tourism industry.
Tourism is our economy.
So far this year, rates have been nearly 70 percent. One percent of that sales tax rate funds the city's economic development corporation. Caller-Times A surfer takes to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on South Padre Island. Many of the island s visitors are from Texas and Monterrey, Mexico. The big crowds come to South Padre during Spring Break or the Easter week.