Outer Banks tourism overcomes bad news

Stricter limits on beach driving caused a sandstorm of controversy on the Outer Banks this summer, but they didn't steer away tourists.

According to the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, year-over-year gross receipts from motels, rental houses and other lodging and gross receipts from meals were up three of the four major tourism months.

August was especially strong, thanks in part to the Labor Day weekend. Gross receipts for lodging rose 13.7 percent over last year, and gross receipts for meals were up 2.8 percent.

From Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, the bureau reported, occupancy receipts were 3.9 percent higher than last year and meals receipts were up roughly one-half percent - modest but remarkable gains in a year of high gas prices, wildfire smoke and steady economic decline.

At the end of April, the National Park Service, environmental groups, off-road vehicle alliances and officials from Dare and Hyde counties signed an agreement in federal court that sharply curtailed ORV access to areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore where vulnerable bird species and sea turtles were nesting.

The beach closures temporarily shut off pedestrian and vehicle access to several popular fishing spots, and business owners reliant on recreational fishing reported big drops in sales. State figures for the summer are incomplete, but overall, taxable sales were up in June for both Dare and Hyde.

As park officials, islanders, conservationists and others work on long-term ORV rules, they should delve further into the effect on those businesses. But they also should acknowledge tourism wasn't as hard hit as critics had feared.

Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/outer-banks-tourism-overcomes-bad-news

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