Appealing to people who want a close-to-home vacation has helped Deception Pass Tours consistently break its sales records this summer.
The small company, which offers boat tours of one of the state’s most-photographed attractions, is an example of the ways tourist-related businesses are weathering, even thriving in, a stormy economy.
Terica Taylor, who co-owns Deception Pass Tours with her husband, Brett Ginther, said that their business has capitalized on Northwesterners’ desire to get out without breaking the bank. She said she’s seen fewer international travelers this year, compared to last.
“A lot of people coming to Deception Pass this year are from Seattle and Tacoma,” Taylor said. “People are staying closer to home and taking shorter trips, and that is great for the (local) community.”
Whether they use creative marketing, capitalize on low prices or offer products with a value deemed worth the expense, tourism-dependent businesses in Skagit and Island counties are using a variety of tools to draw customers.
Some hotel operators in Skagit say that “stay-cationers,” those who seek to save money by vacationing close to home, and Canadian travelers, lured south by the shopping power of the Canadian dollar, are helping make up for a drop in business and other types of leisure travel.
Skagit County is within a 100-mile radius of 6.5 million people, said Don Wick, executive director Economic Development Association of Skagit County. Many of those people may want to spend less on vacations, he said.
“With the beauty of our region and the interesting events around the year, people benefit by staying closer to home,” Wick said.
Representatives of regional chamber of commerce groups and business associations say that this summer’s been good for some tourism-related businesses, but not for others.
“Hotels are doing fine and restaurants, for the most part, are doing fine,” said Mitch Everton, Anacortes Chamber of Commerce executive director.
In other words, people book rooms and eat out. But they aren’t shopping, at least not as much as last summer.
Exactly how much sales have dropped may be unknown until summer sales tax figures are reported to the state Revenue Department in the fall.
Still, chambers and other business groups, such as the fledgling Skagit County Hotel and Tourism Cooperative, organized by the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, are keeping eyes on anecdotal ways to measure the local tourist economy.
When it comes to specialty retail, visitors’ willingness to open their wallets depends on the products sold, and the price and the perceived value and customer service, Everton said.
“There’s folks out there saying, ‘I’m not going to buy anything unless it really grabs me,’” Everton said.
There are already signs that some businesses won’t survive.
“The ones hanging on by the hair of their chinny-chin-chin aren’t going to make it,” said Cindy Tracey, La Conner Chamber of Commerce president. “The ones that recognize that their storefront can’t be their only marketing, they will.”
Area chambers have promoted vacation spots around Puget Sound, including in Skagit County. A story on KING 5’s “Evening Magazine” television show helped draw customers to Deception Pass Tours, dramatically bumping sales, Taylor said.
But many hotels in the Skagit Valley are showing fewer overnight stays than last summer, said Kim Bockenkamp, a member of the hotel-tourism cooperative.
Some help has come from last-minute bookings and an increase in Canadian travelers, said Brooks McLain, general manager at Fairfield Inn north of Burlington. But he’s seen many last-minute cancellations, especially related to sports tournaments.
“We have whole teams canceling. What they are saying is: I have six parents who can’t afford to come, and the team can’t make up the difference,” McLain said.
n Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .
