AAA says that July 4th weekend travel may not sparkle this year as it will be down about 2% from last year. In addition the Coast Carolina University Brittain Center Resort Tourism predicts Independence Day occupancy on the Strand will be about what it was last year. It says occupancy last week was down about 2.5% from the same week last year, with lodging revenue down about 11.5%.
There is good news as far gas prices which are a lot lower than last year. However, the economic uncertainty many families face appears to be a main reason for the overall travel decline.
Some of the travelers like Keith McDaniel and Karen Layel that came to the beach this July 4th week said that they really had to think twice about how they planned their vacation this year compared to last.
They said that in a weak economy taking a trip is still important even if it's just for a few days especially now that gas prices have gone down.
"We’re in Tennessee, I was surprised they're about the same here so I mean you know compared to where it was a year ago or two years ago it's a cheap ride,” said McDaniel who has been staying on the boulevard since the beginning of the week.
“Even in tough times you have to have something to look forward to you have to have something to do with the kids something to do with the families some sort of getaway but you want to get the most bang for your buck,” said Layel who came down from North Carolina on Thursday.
Some hoteliers along Ocean Boulevard said that they weren't sure how business would be this summer but said that so far their occupancy rates are above expectations even though guests are staying for a shorter amount of time.
"June looked good, July looks good and August looks good but with the economy being soft the problems you run into there is that people always want come down and vacation but they may stay six nights instead of seven or five instead of six so they're shortening their stay so that they are able to have the cash to do that,” said Ray Booth of Oceans One Resort
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