While economic strains have many people wishing for a vacation, more travelers might look for fun closer to home when it's time for a break.
Americans are expected to take 322 million domestic leisure trips this summer, according to the U.S. Travel Association's annual summer travel forecast, published in the spring.
The forecast found, however, that Americans are planning to take more day trips or long- weekend getaways in lieu of weeklong trips, which could suggest that they're planning to travel shorter distances.
Representatives of southwest Missouri-based tourism attractions remain hopeful that they'll draw in some of those travelers, even as visitor figures through June are fairly flat.
"We're cautiously optimistic," said Lisa Rau, director of public relations for Branson-based Herschend Family Entertainment. "We're not ready to say it's going to be a great year. We're watching the trends every day, every week."
Rau said this year's January through June attendance numbers for Herschend Family Entertainment destinations - Silver Dollar City, White Water and the Showboat Branson Belle - have remained largely flat or slightly below the numbers for the same period last year. At Silver Dollar City, for example, there were 584,000 visitors for the first six months of this year, down by 1,000 visitors from the same period in 2008.
"For us to be holding our own up against last year, with so many families experiencing economic issues, we remain extremely optimistic about the year," she said.
Although travel, like many industries, is feeling the economic pinch, local attractions are hoping to nab their share of the money that will be spent on summer fun. According to the ATA forecast, U.S. travelers expect to take an average of two trips this summer, stay approximately seven nights away from home and spend more than $900 on their longest trips.
Enticing visitors
Traveler numbers could increase as special deals entice those who haven't yet decided on taking trips - a category that includes some 38 million U.S. adults, according to ATA.
At Discovery Center of Springfield, year-to-date attendance of 29,459 nearly mirrors the number of visitors to the downtown venue for the first six months of last year.
Members of select science centers - including those in Kansas City and St. Louis - who can use their memberships for free admittance to Discovery Center of Springfield, are helping keep traffic steady, according to Charlotte McCoy, director of marketing for the local science center.
Stressing value is important this summer, according to Rau, as people work to get the most out of their leisure-travel dollars. While Silver Dollar City's season-pass sales are down by 2 percent to 3 percent, or about 4,000 this season, Rau attributed that drop to the closure of Celebration City - as the company's three-park passes covered Silver Dollar City, Celebration City and White Water.
Rau said other special promotions, such as buying two days' admission and getting a third day free, are up 40 percent.
"People are creating their vacations in a value-driven way," she said.
The Springfield Cardinals have created a flexible ticket package with that kind of value in mind. With savings of $21, the packs comprise 20 tickets that can be used at any game for $99, and Kirk Elmquist, vice president of Springfield Cardinals' sales and marketing, have been taking advantage of the promotion.
Elmquist declined to disclose attendance figures for Cardinals' games at Hammons Field this season, though he noted that they have remained steady compared to last year. He does think, however, that weather changes in the last few months have hurt this season's ticket sales.
"I feel like we went straight from winter to summer," Elmquist said.
The former Exotic Animal Paradise, purchased by Wild Animal Safari in March 2008 and now operating under that name, is working toward a goal of 55,000 guests this summer, according to Tallie Snead, event coordinator.
Helping to drive that traffic is the attraction's efforts to capitalize on multiple features available with a ticket. Those include drive-through and walk-through exhibits and a petting zoo, Snead said.
Another animal lovers' attraction, Dickerson Park Zoo, showed a slight increase in year-to-date attendance. Dickerson Park Zoo brought in 98,866 visitors for the first six months of 2009, compared to 96,641 for the same period in 2008.
And zoo officials are fairly certain about their demographics.
"Our bread and butter is the people around here," said Melinda Arnold, the zoo's public relations and marketing director.
Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, co-owner of the Titanic museum in Branson, said a targeted marketing campaign for the Oklahoma market has brought an 11 percent increase in attendance through June, though she declined to disclose specific figures.
A change in traveler perceptions boosted Titanic's year-to-date attendance, Kellogg-Joslyn said, noting that the attraction had a record spring break season.
"Branson is becoming a huge spring break family destination," she said.
Summer hopes
While representatives with local attractions are optimistic about the coming months, they also concede that in terms of comparisons, last year wasn't the best for tourism either.
Rau said near-record rainfall in June 2008 hampered attendance at Herschend attractions at the start of last summer, and soaring gas prices at the same time last year also didn't help.
At Fantastic Caverns, visitor numbers were down 12 percent in 2008, according to spokesman Kirk Hansen, who didn't disclose specifics. He noted, however, that officials were glad the numbers didn't drop more drastically.
For the first quarter of this year, Hansen said Fantastic Cavern's numbers were up 35 percent, but he noted that in the early months of the year, there aren't as many visitors, so it takes fewer to show a large percentage gain.
Although the numbers have leveled out a bit, he added that the attraction's leaders are encouraged by being up 1 percent to 2 percent overall.
As summer travel season gets into full swing, time will tell the full effects of the economy on local tourist attractions, but industry sources are hoping the Ozarks stands out as a destination, particularly to locals.
"Springfield has as much or more to offer, right here in your own backyard, and I'm hoping that's what people can realize," McCoy said.[[In-content Ad]]
