It seems many people are still planning on heading to the OBX this year.  Initially it seems as if pre reservations are off less than 5% for some.  This can only be taken as a highly encouraging sign for 2009.  While it is definitely way too early to determine how the season will play out, it does show the resiliency of tourism in the Outer Banks.

The season which started out with dire predictions on how gas prices were going to keep everyone from vacationing on the Outer Banks, now seems to be doing better than last year which was a great year for Outer Banks tourism.  As we always see, when times are tough people stay near home and vacation in the states.  It makes now, with home prices having fallen and gross occupancy rising, a great time to look into investing in Outer Banks real estate.

International Wine Festival

It does seem the OBX Marathon will be a huge weekend again.  IF the trend continues, it looks like Thanksgiving Week should be a booming week for the OBX.  Revenues may definitely be down in restaurants and hotels but this off season definitely looks to be shaping up much better than was expected.

The tech savvy travelers were also found to be “highly educated” and with 30% of households making in excess of $100,000.  This group of travelers were also found to spend as 50% more than there “non techie” counterparts.  37% were found to have visited a social network like MySpace or Facebook, than a travel review site like TripAdvisor.

Vacation home owners should pay attention over 40% have taken a virtual tour before they went somewhere.  An often overlooked aspect of vacation home marketing is the value in a good virtual tour.  Home owners with this group it is important to deliver what you advertise.  A full third have written a travel review online.
This is an emerging market and for those who value their Outer Banks vacation rentals it is important to stay ahead of the trend.  Wireless internet is the minimum any home owner should offer.  It today’s market a Outer Banks home owner is seriously handicapping themselves with not having free wireless internet.
link to full article

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.

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.