Staycations could boost state's tourism industry - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Last year at this gas prices rose to morethan $4 per putting the brakes on traditional summer road Now gas is back around $2 a but a deep recession lingers afterd putting hundreds of thousandes of Americans out of work and causing millionas more to rein in theirr spending. “Gas prices are not as much of a concer n right now as theoverall economy, consumer confidencwe and people’s concerns about their jobs and said John Edman, who has been executivs director of for the past nine Consequently, this will be a particularlgy challenging year for Minnesot a operators, though there is hope that Minnesotand who travel will do so closer to At Madden’s on Gull Lake in owner and General Manager C.
Briabn Thuringer said this has beenthe “most serious” of the four or five recessionz he has seen during his 36 years at the “This is the first time that the bottom has reallt fallen out,” Thuringer said. “Before, there was always that feeling that therer was a slump andthings weren’t flowing, but tomorrow was going to be This is the first time when people don’rt really know when tomorrow is.” A recen t survey conducted by Explore Minnesota foune that 57 percent of the state’s lodgin businesses saw revenue and occupancy declinre in April and May as compared to a year ago.
51 percent of Minnesota hotel and campground operators said they expectr business to remain flat or increase this summer comparede tolast summer. About 60 percent of surveh respondents described the financial healtb of their businessesas “growing” or “stable, but There are some concerns about declining but overall, Edman expects this to be a relativelyt strong summer for the state’s $11 billion-a-yead tourism industry.
The state typically generates about 37 percent ofits travel-relatesd revenue during the months of June, July and August, and he thinks those peak months will be busy again this “People are still goinf to want to travel,” Edman “They’re just going to travel differently than they did in the People still need to get away for stress relief and health reasons.” The bigges t difference this year, Edman predicts, will be where people decides to go. He expects that most people will stay closer to home andbook shorter, less-expensiv e trips within driving distance of where they That’s why Explore Minnesota is changing its marketinb approach.
Typically, it spendse about 80 percent of its marketinv budget to promote the stat eto nonresidents, with the remaining 20 percent aimed at this year, that split is closer to 60-40. “Wd don’t have oceans and we don’t have mountains, but we do have a lot of thingd thatare unique,” Edman “Whether it’s fishing or hiking or biking, thosw are relatively low-cost activities that you can do You don’t have to go far.
” That could bode well for Minnesotza resorts, as Twin Cities residents book trips to Duluth or instead of venturing on week-long, cross-country said Dave Siegel, president and CEO of Hospitality Minnesota, whicb oversees the state’s restaurant, lodging, and resort and campgrounc associations. “I think it’s going to be a good he said. “… I’m not projectinv an increase, but I expect [resorts] to hold theie own.” Camping and fishing also couldx see a boost in popularity this Siegel said.
Meanwhile, officialzs at Minneapolis’ convention and visitors bureau, Meet remains “cautiously optimistic” about business this summer, said Presidentt and CEO Melvin Tennant. “A lot of our hospitality-industrty executives believe we’ve either hit bottomn or are close tohitting bottom, and that from this pointf on, we’re going to be able to see some very modest … I think this summer could be very good for Meet Minneapolis advertised its “Downtown Sizzle” campaign, which includea discount packages at 12 participating hotels through with 450,000 promotional inserts in newspapers in the Twin Duluth; Des Moines, Iowa; Fargo, N.D.
; Madison, Milwaukee; and Winnipeg, Manitoba. Getting a true read on the summere hospitality businessis difficult, however, becausse people are waiting longer to book their So even the northern Minnesota resortz that anticipate a busy summer still have numerous openingws during peak months. “It’s a much more last-minute vacation-plannin experience,” Siegel said. “I think that’s If people are nervous about their jobs or theirdeconomic futures, they’re waiting untiol they have a greater degree of securityt before they make that reservation.
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