Outer Banks Property Management

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.

Perhaps the single biggest week in the Outer Banks is upon us.  Many concerns have been expressed about the state of tourism on the beach.  From my perspective so far it has been steady.  Definitely not as good as a record setting 2007 but definitely solid considering the state of the US economy and gas prices.  Many employees and business owners are expressing the same sentiment.

Currituck County in particular is experiencing a budget surplus for 2008.  Revenues are not down all along the beach as shown by Currituck’s increased revenues.  Dare County on the other hand has seen their revenue fall for 2008.  The numbers so far do not show the season being bad at all.  Actually some are now calling for a booming 4th of July.

How will gas prices affect the Outer Banks in 2008?

A very serious concern of many Outer Banks residents and business owners has been the rising price of gasoline. With the majority of the Outer Banks businesses reliant on tourism, a major move in gasoline prices are always a concern.

With Memorial Day just passing, it seems the rise in fuel prices will have very little negative effect.  If Memorial Day weekend was any indicator for the entire summer, it actually appears as if the 2008 season will reflect the strong 2007 season.

Several local business owners and managers I spoke with early in the week reported having strong Memorial Day sales. A couple even hinted that this was one of the strongest Memorial Day weekends in recent years. Some rumors floated about some of the businesses having higher sales than any day of last summer.

My personal thought is that most Americans are looking at vacation destinations that are closer to home. The declining value of the US dollar abroad will force many Americans to vacation in the states. Besides the decline in purchasing power of the dollar abroad, airline prices have increased in response to the increase in fuel costs. Both of these factors normally lead to increase tourism for US destinations. How this all affects us here in the Outer Banks remains to be seen.

Follow-Up:

After spending the last couple days talking to vacationers, it seems as if the gas prices are not affecting their decisions to visit the Outer Banks. I have to believe that without a dramatic price increase, tourism along the Outer Banks will remain strong.

Should we save the beach?  Thoughts on Outer Banks Beach Nourishment

 

     This issue is one that is close to many vacation home owners.  This issue has many on both sides of the fence.  I, like many, have an opinion on beach nourishment.  I will save my opinions for another time.  Right now, I am looking to present some facts about beach nourishment.  

     Both sides of the argument have very valid points.  I always try to look into both sides of an issue before making a decision.  Below you will find some articles for and against Outer Banks beach nourishment.  If you have an opinion, feel free to leave a comment.  Let me know where you stand. 

 

Outer Banks Beach Nourishment Articles:

NOAA Beach Nourishment

NOAA Beach Nourishment II

Outer Banks BeachHuggers

ScienceBlog

NCGS on the Outer Banks

Dr. Beach on North Carolina

 

Beach Nourishment Questions:

Many wonder if beach nourishment is possible with the prospect of sea levels rising? 

Is beach nourishment a viable long term solution?

What are the long term costs associated with nourishing the beaches of the Outer Banks?

Will beach nourishment work on the Outer Banks?

Where will the revenue to pay for beach restoration come from?

 

 

     Well, Dr. Steven Leatherman has done it again.  For those unfamiliar with Dr. Leatherman, he is also known as Dr. Beach.  His yearly rankings can mean a windfall of additional tourist dollars for the beaches that make his list.  Last year, Ocracoke Island was rated as the #1 beach in America.  Ocracoke was the first beach not in Hawaii or Florida to make the ranking. 

     Dr. Beach’s list for 2008 was just released.  The Outer Banks again made the top 10.  Cape Hatteras was recognized as the #8 beach on his list.    While we did not reach #1 again, it is still great for the beaches here to be named. 

     If you take the time to visit Dr. Beach’s site, you will see his personal preference for the Outer Banks.  He says, “North Carolina has over 300 miles of beach to choose from, but my favorite is the Outer Banks.”  He goes on to say, “This is the most impressive chain of barrier islands in the world.”  This truly says something about this beautiful chain of barrier islands. 

     For Outer Banks home owners he goes on to say, “The Carolina coast is family oriented, and the best way to enjoy it is to rent one of the many seaside cottages or share a bigger house with friends and family. The emphasis is on family beach activities and backyard barbecues.”  You can’t get a better recommendation for renting a beach house then from the man called Dr. Beach. 

     I may be a little biased but I completely agree with him.  The Outer Banks is one of the most amazing coasts in the entire world.   For those that have never been here, they truly are missing out.

 

If you would like to see the complete list: Dr. Beach 2008 list

Here is another article from an Outer Banks Blog on Hatteras being named by Dr. Beach. 

 

How vacationers are finding their information on the Outer Banks

In March, the Department of Travel & Tourism for Currituck County released a 13 month report on tourism in Currituck County. The 38 page report provides much insight into tourism in Currituck and the Outer Banks.   The state of tourism in the Outer Banks directly affects the amount of vacation home rentals.  The county has definitely improved its visibility in the last 13 months. The greatest strides have definitely been done through their improved use of Internet marketing.

Currituck Visitor Guide Request:

March of 2007 to March 2008 requests were up 10%

Currituck also now offers a trail guide. There was an additional 251 trail guides this year in March compared to none last year.

One request that fell off dramatically though was the request for Wedding Guides. Wedding guides request were off over 2,000 guides. One could make the argument that the economy is decreasing the number of destination weddings.

Visitor Information by State:

The top five states with potential vacationers requesting information.

1. North Carolina
2. Pennsylvania
3. New York
4. Florida
5. New Jersey

A trend is definitely developing with the Outer Banks as a vacation destination for travelers from the Northeast. This seems to confirm a trend that the Outer Banks is becoming more of a destination. Vacationers are now coming from further away to enjoy the unspoiled beauty.

Currituck County on the Web:

There are a number of places Currituck County has ad’s placed in traditional print outlets. The list is quite extensive. Since the Internet is becoming more vital to advertising the Outer Banks as a destination, we will focus on their efforts in web advertising.

County Banner Ads:

The county is using a number of banner ads.

1. Washington Post
2. AARP online magazine
3. VacationFun.com
4. VirginiaBeach.com
5. CoastalLiving.com
6. ModernBride.com
7. NaturalHistoryMag.com
8. SouthernLivingVacations.com
9. VisitSouth.com
10. Preservationonline.org

Internet Directory Listings:

Directories provide two ways to help the counties websites. Visitors that find the county through the directory and increasing the county’s visibility on search engines. Since long term effective use of the Internet is crucial to promoting tourism and directories are much more effective long term than banner ads, all the directories are listed.

Currituck’s Directory Listings:

1. Weddingchannel.com
2. DirectoryOutdoor.com
3. Directoryrecreation.com
4. SafeABC.com
5. Funrecreation.com
6. DirectoryFriendly.com
7. DirectoryFamily.com
8. FamilyTarget.com
9. DirectoryB2B.com
10. Shopping5.com
11. LookDirectory.com
12. Outdoors-411.com
13. JoeAnt.com
14. Best of the Web
15. AvivaDirectory.com
16. Sevenseen.com
17. uncoverthenet.com
18. GoGuides.org
19. Yahoo Directory
20. GoOutside.com
21. NCGuide

Articles on the Web:

Having articles written and distributed through article submission websites is a great way to introduce the Outer Banks in a non-traditional outlet. The second benefit of having articles on the web is the articles create backlinks improving the visibility of the County’s websites.

1. ezinearticles.com
2. Trifter.com
3. Helium.com
4. GoArticles.com
5. amazings.com
6. articlecity.com
7. buzzle.com
8. IdeaMarketers.com

The statistics show that every year more travelers learn about their next vacation through information found on the web. Currituck County appears to be making significant headway into Internet advertising. This is a great thing for vacation home owners. The more they are on the web, the more visitors are attracted to the area.

One of their top traffic generators is: www.visitcurrituck.com.

Significant stats from VisitCurrituck.com for March 2008:

1. Average time on site increased to: 1 minute 36 seconds
2. Unique Visitors: 9,454
3. Overall Hits: 260,236

Disclaimer: Without researching the traffic of each website or directory used it is impossible to give a true gauge of how effective each website is or is not. It is going to be assumed that any advertising done on the Internet is productive and will assist in showcasing the Outer Banks.