CVB: Economy starting to affect local tourism

Springfield's year-to-date travel and hotel statistics are starting to show effects of the country's difficult economic situation, the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau reports.

In its November newsletter, the CVB says hotel occupancy and room demand are down for the year so far, as are visitor numbers to Tourist Information Centers, travel inquiries and CVB Web site visits.

Year-to-date hotel statistics as of August show:

• Room sales were down 0.4 percent from a year ago at $54.97 million;

• Room supply was up 2.3 percent at 1.49 million available rooms;

• Room demand was down 3.7 percent at 825,555 nightly stays, although taking into account the increase in demand during the 2007 ice storm shows 2008 demand was up 1.6 percent;

• Percent of occupancy was down 6 percent to 55.3 percent; and

• Average daily rate was up 3.4 percent to $66.58 per room.

Travel statistics for the year-to-date as of September, meanwhile, are down across the board:

• Visits to the CVB's Tourist Information Centers were down 13.4 percent to 46,650;

• Tourist inquiries were down 16.3 percent to 51,491;

• Web site visits were down 10 percent to 1.01 million; and

• Airport passengers were down 10.3 percent at 585,471.

Springfield's travel industry historically remains strong during tough economic times, the CVB said, but national trends are starting to hit home. Smith Travel Research recently revised its national travel outlooks for 2008, 2009 and 2010, according to the CVB. National hotel occupancy is expected to fall 3 percent in 2008, and room demand is expected to fall 0.5 percent. For 2009, the firm predicts a 3.5 percent decline in occupancy and a 1 percent decline in demand, and for 2010, it predicts an 0.6 percent decline in both occupancy and demand.