Tourism numbers strong, but officials keeping an eye on the future
Trending
ALPENA -- Tourism in Alpena is on pace with last year, which local tourism officials say was one of the best ever.
Still, they are keeping an eye on how inflation and high gas prices are affecting travel, spending habits and how many people are visiting.
Mary Beth Stutzman, president of the Alpena Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Alpena was becoming a destination of choice for many people for several years until the COVID-19 shutdown threw a monkey-wrench in the tourism and hospitality industries.
As restrictions were lifted, Stutzman said Alpena rebounded in terms of visitors and the momentum has continued into 2022.
"In 2020, during the pandemic, when everything was shut down, that year was an anomaly and we aren't looking at that year because it was just so far out of the ordinary and we wouldn't be comparing apples to apples," she said. "What we saw last year was numbers better than 2019 and this year we are seeing similar improvements."
Although gas prices have fallen somewhat over the last month, they remain over $4 a gallon, which can force people wanting to take vacations or day trips to rethink where they want to go and what they want to do.
"We're being very cautious because we, like other communities around the country, are waiting to see if this growth is a flash in the pan because of pent up travel demand and is sustainable," Stutzman said. "Continued increase in gas prices could impact future travel."
Alpena has long reaped the benefits of summer tourism, but the CVB has been slowly marketing the area during the other seasons of the year.
Stutzman said more people now choose to visit during fall because of local outdoor recreation opportunities and colorful excursions. She said now, the goal is to lure more people into town during the spring and winter, which is when Alpena has its lowest number of out-of-town visitors.
"We are trying to make the year-round experience in Alpena a more robust package to even out the year," she said. "We have been seeing good growth and we believe it is because people are still looking for places that have less traffic and more outdoor space."
After school begins, Stutzman said Alpena sees fewer families and more couples and retirees who choose to spend time locally and take advantage of its amenities and recreation offerings.
One of the activities the CVB will promote is bird watching. Stutzman said many migratory birds pass through the Alpena area and it provides an opportunity for bird and outdoor enthusiasts to seek out, see, and photograph the birds that normally don't call Alpena home.
A snowy owl took an extended stay in Alpena last winter, for example, and brought out many people who wanted to see the bird in person and capture a picture of it.
"We are seeing species that we don't normally see and we get excited about it," she said. "As a community, we are interested in birds, but we never looked at it as a way to bring an environmentally conscious visitor here."
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.