Tourism travails: Summer fun faces uncertain times

[July 23, 2008]  MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) -- The sign outside the Aquarius motel reads: "Spend a night, Not a paycheck," but some Midwest travelers have canceled reservations and other visitors stay fewer nights. On the nation's opposite coast, vacationers in Oregon worried about $4 gas splurge less on meals and skip the frills on getaways.

Record gas prices have people talking about joining car pools and trading in gas-guzzling SUVs. Now, as many Americans hit the open road, an uncertain economy is putting a crimp in summer vacation plans as well.

"For Americans, summer travel is almost a birthright," said Brad Dean, president and chief executive of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. "People are still traveling but we are seeing a consistent trend of shorter stays and reduced spending."

The Travel Industry Association projects summer travel will drop 1.5 percent from last year, the first decline in four years.

But Americans are still expected to take an estimated 327 million vacation trips this summer, said Cathy Keefe, a spokeswoman for the trade group. July and August are peak months for domestic travel, about three-quarters of it by car or truck.

Craig and Kathy Thomas of Dwight, Ill., traveled to the beach on a Harley-Davidson, so gas wasn't a big concern. But they cut back on eating out and visited relatives in Kentucky and Georgia along the way.

"You economize where you can," said Kathy Thomas, a legal secretary. "We bought groceries that we put in our room so we eat breakfast and meals there."

Even if they still hold summer travel to be sacred, many people are waiting longer to make plans.

Gregory Christopher, property manager of the Garden City Inn and nearby Ocean View Inn in Garden City, S.C., said reservations are coming in at the last minute.

"The American people, any little thing out of the routine that interrupts their routine, they hibernate," he said.

Myrtle Beach is the heart of South Carolina's $16 billion tourism industry. Despite busy weekends, many oceanfront hotels have vacancy signs during the week.

Occupancy during the past six weeks is also down about 4 percent compared to a year ago, said Taylor Damonte, director of Coastal Carolina University's Brittain Center for Resort Tourism.

The Aquarius suffered cancellations from regulars who visit yearly from Ohio and the Midwest. It now uses midweek specials to reel in tourists and some who might have gone to Florida now stop here.

"We've had a few from Virginia and the D.C. area this year who said the reason they chose us was it was closer," said Harold Hart, manning the front desk.

The Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, boasting 200,000 items from Myrtle Beach T-shirts to potato guns and personalized kiddie license plates, even has a sticker on the door: "Thank You America for Traveling."

Crowds seem as big as in the past but folks don't seem to be spending as much, said manager Curtis Pryor. Still, he said, people want a vacation, even if it's their only trip of the year.

"God has created an atmosphere here where it is so warm," he said, "that people want to get away and come to the beach."

Francois St. Martin drove 24 hours with his wife, two children and another couple from Quebec. He's been coming to Myrtle Beach since childhood and made reservations a year ago -- so there was no question about returning.

"But we'll have to look at it next year and if the gas is still going up, we'll have to consider that," he said. "Still, gas is less expensive in the U.S. than Canada."

After growing year after year for decades, South Carolina's tourism industry is more subdued this season.

At a quaint, oak-shaded cluster of shops in nearby Pawleys Island, business is down at The Original Hammock Shop -- a maker of rope hammocks that are a coastal tradition.

"We still have a bunch of people coming through, but they are not spending as much," manager Darlene Adams said.

Such complaints are heard from shore to shore.

In Newport, on the Oregon coast, gas runs $4.39 a gallon and travelers are booking rooms only a few days in advance at the Embarcadero Resort Hotel and Marina, waiting to see if the weather will be nice before making the two-hour trek from places like Portland.

"They are holding off," said resort general manager Tracy Wiley. "We're seeing it more to the extreme than in the past."

He said occupancy was good, but the resort is running more specials and other sales are soft.

"We have crab ring rentals and crab boat rentals and better restaurant (offerings) ... and we're seeing all those revenues shrink," he said.

Tourism is not down everywhere.

Upscale hotels in Charleston reported strong business during the Spoleto Festival USA in May.

And another record year is shaping up at the plush Grand Hotel Marriott Resort in Point Clear, Ala., overlooking Mobile Bay.

"In your upscale lodging right now, we're not feeling it as much as other people," said David Clark, the hotel's general manager. "I think your discretionary income is still there are long as you continue to raise the bar with your services."

Still, in good economic times or bad, a beach visit remains a tradition for many families.

Happy Montgomery, of Spartanburg, and sister Irene Tzouvelekas, of Greenville, took their annual trip to Litchfield Beach to rent a house with their children and grandchildren.

But instead of bringing five cars including a big van, this year they brought three, including a hybrid Honda Fit which "to fill the gas tank slap full only costs $35," Montgomery explained. The clan also cut down on eating out.

This year she plans to skip her usual trip to Europe but vows never to do away with the summer getaway.

"You build memories," she said, relaxing on a bench with her sister at a Myrtle Beach mall. "You build wonderful memories and you build a life that way."

[Associated Press; By BRUCE SMITH]

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