Tourist towns are struggling

Sp Berlin, MD — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:57:03 GMT

I work in the vacation rental business and reservations are up. I think people just arent spending money on things they dont need.

Tourist towns are struggling

R.M. Bernard — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:13:18 GMT

We own an art Gallery in Newburyport MA, another tourist destination, the local pols have pledged to expand its tourism marketing towards targeting the daytripper. That may work for the T-shirt & Ice Cream vendors, it probably won't help us.

However biz has been steady, who would of thought given the day to day drubbing the economy & markets are taking.

Tourist towns are struggling

Chet — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 23:03:16 GMT

I live in Phoenix, and half the population of Alberta, Canada as well as other snow birds are down here every winter and it doesn't appear this year to have dwindled that much.

Tourist towns are struggling

Larry Hooks, Owensboro, KY — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:05:50 GMT

The economy is in a contraction. This is what happens. Since 1985 we have lived on easy credit, trade deficits, excessive government spending and social security payments for defense spending. People have losted their retirement contributions for the last 10 years and if they were unfortunate to have bought a house in the last few years then their mortgages are probably under water. It's a mess.

Tourist towns are struggling

Michael Keller, South Lake Tahoe, CA — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 05:51:10 GMT

We've been offering more discounts on our vacation rentals and doing well. It seems people want to vacation closer to home and are really looking for value.

Tourist towns are struggling

Minnie Manolta — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:52:24 GMT

I don't think anyone should take a word that's in this article to heart. The author has gone to one small town and then made huge statements about the downturn of business. Many of the posts back up this point that the author is just simply wrong. One town's problems certainly don't predict a trend!

Tourist towns are struggling

erica, Jerome, Arizona — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:12:05 GMT

As a small business owner (26 years) in a tourist town, I see no signs of a crunch...if I wasn't watching the news, I wouldn't know (???) anything was going on. There are tons of tourists from all over the US and Canada, my regular customers are spending as they always do, and I am very GREAT-full to be in sunny Arizona!

When I look at trends in *my* business, I believe it is *my* job to continually make improvements, find the best values, give excellent customer service, etc. because I know the government is not going to do anything that will directly make a difference to me.

Tourist towns are struggling

Denise Moraris, Bradenton FL — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:00:09 GMT

Reading this article made me feel a little better about my business. I own a consignment shop and business is down. I have people asking me all the time how business is as if consignment shops are racking in the cash. As many of the others stated people are only spending on what they need. Even when things are marked to as low as $3.99 they still want discounts. Rents are not discounted we still have to pay high rents without a break. God Bless us all.

Tourist towns are struggling

Eileen Angilletta — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:54:37 GMT

Our small town of Poulsbo, WA has suffered. We have a huge hole in the ground where the new city hall was to be built, but is now on hold. My little shop is holding its own, but many shops have closed. I am advertising more, using internet as well as the local newspaper, newsletters, flyers, etc. These are tough times, but I am hopeful

Tourist towns are struggling

Amy Cox Myrtle Beach, SC — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:55:57 GMT

I have to agree with the author on this one. I own a small business in a resort town. You have to "make it" in the summer to "make it" in the winter. Tourism here has taken a huge hit. We are closing our store after 6 years in business. Things were going great until last year we have seen a tremendous decline in foot traffic. I am feeling the pain of the gentleman paying $20 just to come!

Tourist towns are struggling

Kenton, Steamboat Springs, Colorado — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:36:54 GMT

This is the most unbelievable storm. We are a Gallery located in a Ski Town. Business is way down and not sure that it will ever come back. I wish the best to all the small business out there.

Tourist towns are struggling

Richard Ackley, Jr./Crandon, WI — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:25:36 GMT

Our business is located in a remote rural area 100 miles Northeast of Green bay, Wisconsin. Fortunately for us we offer a 4-season outdoor recreation opportunity. What has helped us is to give tourists more for their tourism dollar. We have expanded outdoor recreation for users e.g snowmobile trails, ATV trails, just to mention a few. Last year we opened a small but luxurious hotel lodge with all the amenties nestled in a densely forested area and our rooms are full every weekend, thus far which is attached to our casino & conference center facility.
Richard D. Ackley, Jr.
(715)-478-7587
Public Relations
Mole Lake Casino Lodge Conference Center

Tourist towns are struggling

Cathy, Anchorage, AK — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:50:17 GMT

I'm closing my vintage/resale clothing shop this spring in a medium sized tourist destination city/area. Business slowed somewhat with the gasoline price spikes last spring but it fell off of a cliff in October (down roughly 60% in traffic and 40% in gross sales almost overnight) and I've had to hustle and discount to keep people coming in the door. I'm sure I could tough it out another year or so with my cash reserves but I'm at the end of my lease and what would the point be really? As much as I love my business, I don't need another hobby, especially one that keeps me up nights trying to think of ways to pump life back into it when the situation is primarily external.

Tourist towns are struggling

Chuck,Harrold, South Dakota — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:02:09 GMT

We are in the wild birdfood business. Product movement is surprisingly good. We believe people will continue to spend money on entertainment. It is still cheaper to feed the birds than spend $100 for a family movie and meal.

Tourist towns are struggling

J Trent — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:57:10 GMT

I too, have a small business in the Southwest. My theory is that the messengers in TV and print news [and their bosses] have lost a bunch of money in the stock market - so they tell us the world is ending.

Their world IS ending. But mine is clipping along like regular. Sorry... business as usual in sunny New Mexico.

Tourist towns are struggling

Peter George — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:38:31 GMT

Tourism, one of the state's largest industries, is down here in Rhode Island. However, both my wife's business and mine are flourishing. She is an account who owns a bookkeeping company, and she is hiring additional help. I am a marketing coach, and I am turning business away.

In general, this is a difficult economy to say the least, and I hope it rebounds soon for the sake of those who are experiencing difficult times.

Tourist towns are struggling

Ellen Mallory, Chicago, IL — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:45:05 GMT

I agree with many of the other posts here that it is pointless to extrapolate trends from a visit to one small town, especially Mystic. I know Mystic, Connecticut very well. The community's economy has been moribund for a decade or more in large part due to the policies of its local planning boards. In particular, a major site in the heart of the shopping district has been left barren for ten years because the planning board has vetoed all development proposals. Business and Mystic do NOT mix.

You should also know that Mystic is now an extremely wealthy town despite its quaintness. I'm not sure what one should expect from a consignment store in a community dominated by people in the top economic bracket.

Finally, two corrections:
1) Mystic is not home to a "major seaport" as stated in the article. It is home to a major maritime MUSEUM which is named "Mystic Seaport". It should be noted that attendance at "Mystic Seaport" has been in sharp decline for almost twenty years, down 50% in that time frame. The trials and tribulations of Mystic, Connecticut have very little to do with the current recession.

2) The restaurant "Mystic Pizza" is only tenuously related to the MOVIE named "Mystic Pizza" which was a delightful romantic comedy, but of course a work of fiction. Many tourists naturally make the same mistaken association which is great for business, but still a mistake.

Tourist towns are struggling

fed up with lies — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:27:40 GMT

My small business had the best year ever in 2008 untilt he market crashed Sept. Oct , everyone fell off the face of the earth. They came back strong for Christmas and Jan, feb has been up and down, with Feb being more up. Throiugh the week is slower and weekends back to nrom. Again, people are cutting back, but I work harder to improve what I can and hold down costs. I have both my home and business are recession mode spending and I do balance both checkbooks. Dc and you idiot politicians, take note. Don't spend what you don't have and get out of Iraq now. That is the biggest drain on our markets.Looks like you should have put the troops on our own borders, that would make us safer and keep out the illegals, all of which would really save us money and fix the crisis, versus wasting more billions in Iraq. they have alot of oil, they can rebuild themselves.

I did nothing wrong in my business, yet I lost money in 2008 due to idiot politicians and a fake war. Go see W if you have not. that is the moron that started this mess and now Obama is breaking his promises.
Small business owners, please spek up and out and call, write, email your senate and congress untilt hey are forced to lsiten and please vote out any and everyone that has been in office more than a year, they are part and msot of the problem. it does not take 25 years to be in senate to fix something, but they sure can destroy alot in 25 years, would you get 25 years to get yoru business right, No.