Tourism up despite gas prices

Sunday, 30 July 2006

Vacationers stay closer to home, and area's regional attractions reap the benefit -- especially if they lower their own prices.

By MOLLY LINN
mollylinn@sanduskyregister.com

SANDUSKY - Exxon Mobil Corp and ConocoPhillips aren't the only industry seeing gains and profits for high gas prices.

For the local tourism industry, indicators are positive despite vactioners paying and average $3 a gallon at the pump.

Exxon posted second-quarter earning last week up 36 percent to $10.36 billion, a surge atrributed to soaring oil prices and larger profit margins at its refineries.

For Cedar Point, rising prices aren't what has the park anticipating an increase in visitors to the park for 2006 rollercoast season.

Robin Innes, spokesman for Cedar Point, explained.

"Generally the higher the price of gas doesn't help, but we saw last year we expected higher gas prices and families in the Midwest having less money for entertainment so we tried to combat that with lower prices this year," he said.

Joan Van Offeren, executive director of the Erie County Visitor and Convention Bureau, said regional tourist destinations are keeping the stretching leisure dollar in mind this season.

Another spokesperson for the bureau said that early reports from the islands are good.

"The ferries are full, the crowds are here and hotels are reporting good occupancy rates," said Dawn Weinhardt.

Weinhardt said the bureau is seeing licenses plates from all over the Midwest and more-distant locations such as New Jersey.

"They're still coming," she said. "This area has a lot to offer because it's a one -stop destination. You aren't going to tell your kids, 'Sorry, we aren't going to Cedar Point this year because gas prices went up.' This is a place that people come back to again and again for vacation."

Although Cedar Point and the visitor bureau don't have official numbers for the apex of tourist season, one indicator that business is healthy is the announcement of a 5.18 percent increase in sales tax revenue for the year.

Erie County commissioners said the increased brought in more than $125,000 beyond what was anticipated by this point in the tax year. This month has seen about a 15 percent jump in revenues. Increased gas prices alone can't be responsible for the increase, they said.

But, locals and visitors can still expect their pocket book to be hit when they fill up their tanks in Sandusky. The Saturday gas average for Sandusky, according to AAA, was slightly less than $3 a gallon.

AAA offers tools such as the gas gauge calculator online for vacationers to anticipate the gas costs of their road trip, localizing the predicted gas prices for fill-up stops along the way and tailoring the mileage to the make and model of car.

Gas and go

Gas price information:

www.fuelgaugereporter.com

Area gas prices

Lowest prices for a gallon of regular unleaded as of Saturday

Sandusky $2.939

Huron/Milan $2.989

Cleveland $2.959

Toledo $2.929

Westlake $2.899

-- Source: www.automotive.com/gas-prices

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com

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