Outer Banks Property Management

Now that we are over half the way through the Summer, the impact of the beach driving injunction can truly be felt. Revenues are off on the Outer Banks. Loss of tourist revenue is a major blow to the local economy. Many attribute this to the general state of the US economy. While many attribute this to rising gas prices, this is not what I and many local businesspersons have seen. The areas of the Outer Banks most impacted by loss of revenue, are found in and along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Revenues in Currituck County on the other hand have been up this year.

It would appear their is a direct relationship between the beach driving injunction and loss of revenue along Hatteras Island. Many local groups are gathering to work to repel Judge Terrance Boyle’s injunction. Local politicians like Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr have joined the fight along with Congressman Walter Jones. Some of the local groups working together include: Dare County Commissioners, Outer Banks Preservation Association, local fishing groups, and most town councils. The Outer Banks Association of Realtors has even issued a resolution supporting bills S3113 and HR6223. This issue is becoming a major topic of all Outer Banks conversations.

According to the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation, state parks generate an estimated $289 million dollars annually to the local economies. The parks economic impact also creates an estimated $120 million towards locally generated incomes. The research was done by N.C. State University for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. Needless to say, the effective preservation and management of state parks is essential.

The study also found the average visitor to a North Carolina state park spends $23.56 a day. Proper management is essential in maintaining our state parks. One of the parks studied was Jockeys Ridge State Park.

The study found over 871, 572 visitors in 2004. It is a interesting breakdown of visitors. Twenty five percent of all visitors came with the intention of seeing the park. Sixty-nine percent were casual use, non-local visitors, (visitors residing out of Dare County that are in the area for reasons other than visiting the park). The numbers basically confirm that the park is a great draw for the area. 1 in 4 visitors to the park have come from outside Dare County to visit. The fact is the park helped to draw 214,988 visitors to the Outer Banks.

One of the top draws to Jockeys Ridge has always been hang gliding. The is even a hang gliding school operated within the park. Besides the obvious draw of hang gliding, hiking and educational activities actually make up the two biggest draws. These draws add up to over ten million dollars.

Actually the study found the estimated economic impact was over $10,700,000. The money spent by the visitors to the park are vital to helping drive tourism in the Outer Banks and especially in Nags Head. The study found the economic impact equates into 247 jobs for the local economies. With such impressive statistics a case can be made for an additional state park in the Outer Banks. For more information on the study.

The traffic over the Wright Memorial Bridge was extremely heavy on Saturday.  The heavy traffic would seem to what appeared to be a booming 4th of July weekend on the Outer Banks.  Many local business owners were reporting record sales.

The combination of increased traffic and what seems like strong numbers should bode well for Outer Banks businesses.  A slower June had some local business owners concerned about the state of the season.  The numbers are not in but it does seem that it was a booming weekend for tourism in the Outer Banks.

One of the most important weeks of the year is here.  July 1-7 is National Clean Beaches Week.  Locally Dare County is sponsoring a beach clean-up on July 5th.  This week is an important part of maintaining tourism in beach communities. 

Personally I think week’s like this should garner more exposure.  Maintaining the beaches and especially tourism is an important part of all areas affected by tourism.  Beach communities account for over 85% of all tourism revenues generated in the United States.  The total revenues are over $640 billion. 

Using those simple numbers it is easy to see how important it is to maintain high quality beaches in the Outer Banks and throughout the rest of the world.  Sustainable tourism should be the goal of everyone in every beach community.