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Delaware Travel News:
Delaware tourism drops
The economy results in less revenue during the summer
By James Merriweather • The News Journal • September 3, 2008
WILMINGTON -- More than 75,000 Delaware residents were expected to get behind the wheel during the Labor Day weekend for trips of 50 miles or more, travel experts said.
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The excursions marked the traditional end of a season that this year featured families that stayed closer to home, choosing more modest accommodations and, in some cases, forgoing travel altogether, they said.
" 'Staycations' replaced many vacations as household budgets were stretched to accommodate record high gas prices and rising food costs," said Ela A. Voluch, a AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman.
"However, a number of determined travelers have managed their expenses in order to keep vacations affordable," she said. "Travelers made adjustments in how they traveled, where they traveled, when they traveled and how they spent their vacation dollars."
In Kent County, tourism chief Cindy Small reported that, owing to high gasoline prices and a sagging economy, summer traffic was down 10 percent to 15 percent from last year's tourist count -- even with the draw of recently expanded gambling facilities at Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway & Casino and eight hotels that have gone up in the last 18 months or so.
Carol Everhart, director of the Rehoboth/Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, said that, except for the second-straight record-breaking Memorial Day weekend, beach tourist traffic was weak during April and May and flat in June. During July and August, extended weekend business was up, but hotel bookings for Monday through Wednesday were especially weak.
"That is a national trend that's been happening for a long time," Everhart said.
The weekend approach allows visitors to reserve money for future use. If the cash flow will support it, those visitors may return for a second or third weekend.
And, Everhart said, Labor Day, owing partly to the popularity of weekend-only visits, does not mark the winding down of the summer season in the resort area. The fall looks extremely strong, she said.
"September and October have beat out May and June for many years, and they're going to do it again," Everhart said.
Even as Kent County experienced a summer tourism slowdown, at least one of its 20 museums reported a big bounce from tourists staying closer to home and increasing numbers of daytrippers. Michael Leister, director of the Air Mobility Command Museum, says dozens of motorists headed elsewhere are prompted by signs on a fence along Route 1 to stop and take a look at the museum's collection of 25 restored military planes.
"This was our best July and August ever," said Leister, whose museum on Dover Air Force Base, off Route 9, offers free admission and parking. Source Link