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September 4, 2004Area sees bummer of a summerChilly weather mostly to blameByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Lifeguard Sean Seekins - who works on the front lines of tourism from his daily perch at Bryant Park beach - describes the waning summer in two words: Cold. Quiet. "There were a lot of days where we were pretty bundled up out here," Seekins said, as he and partner Katie Benjamin watched over a largely empty beach this week. It was an all-too-common scene this summer in northern Michigan, as hopes for a strong tourism rebound nose-dived in the wake of lousy weather, high gas prices and a still-lagging Michigan economy. A season that began with optimism for reversing a three-year state tourism slide was doused by long stretches of chilly, cloudy weather combined with other factors that kept many tourists away. "It's been a tough summer," said Deborah Knudsen, head of the Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It's disappointing because we went into it expecting a good year. If the weather was nice, we knew there would be a pent-up demand (for travel)." Instead Mother Nature dished out summer weather in dribs and drabs, leaving some businesses wondering if summer ever arrived at all. "When you're in a leisure market and the weather heads south on you, there's not much you can do but keep moving on," said Robert Gattin, general manager of the Holiday Inn of Traverse City. "The weather had a very negative impact overall, but things are looking up" for this fall. Temperatures in the Traverse City area were more than three degrees below the long-term average for July and August. According to the National Weather Service, the thermometer edged above 90 degrees just once this summer - a high of 91 on June 8. There were 10 days in June and August when the thermometer failed to register 70 degrees. The average high temperature in Traverse City for July 5-9 - National Cherry Festival time - was a chilly 65.4 degrees. Weather experts said a strong low-pressure trough that swept in cool Canadian air across the upper Great Lakes dominated the summer, keeping warm southern air bottled up in the southern and western United States. "It's been very consistent - basically all summer," said Jon Jelsema, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Gaylord. Travel research by AAA of Michigan also pointed to the state's economy for limiting the amount of in-state travel north by downstate residents. "If you don't have a lot of money and you're worried about your job, you're probably not thinking too much about a vacation," AAA spokesperson Nancy Cain said. One barometer the state uses to gauge tourism - trips across the Mackinac Bridge - pointed downward. Bridge crossings in July were down by more than 5,000 vehicles from last year, to just over 633,000. Crossings in May and June dropped more than 4 percent from 2003 - and last year's numbers were worse than the year before. Retail sales for July in the Traverse City area also reflected the disappointing summer season, according to a monthly sales index generated by the Michigan Retailers Association. Forty-seven percent of area retailers reported decreased sales in July compared to 2003, with the same number reporting better sales from last year. Six percent said sales were unchanged. Statewide, 45 percent of Michigan retailers reported sales losses in July, while 42 had increased sales and 13 percent were unchanged. "We're seeing significant swings in monthly sales performance, no doubt caused by high gas prices, unseasonable weather and other factors," said Larry Meyer, head of the retailers association. Cain agreed weather was a problem but believes gas prices weren't as much of a factor because they dropped slightly over the summer from record levels in late spring of more than $2.10 per gallon. Still, the area's $1.95-a gallon range into the holiday weekend is up about a dime a gallon from this time last year. Some local retailers remain optimistic for a strong end to the summer tourist season. Fifty-nine percent of Traverse City-area retailers surveyed anticipated increased sales through October, compared to 12 percent expecting decreases and 29 percent expecting no change, according to the retailers index.
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