“We’re completely sold out,” office manager Jen Hiatt said.
But a busy Labor Day weekend is part of a pattern of good news for the local tourism industry, which officials say had a better-than-expected summer.
When the season started with a spate of shark bites, many feared Southeastern North Carolina was in for a summer of the shark. Early numbers, however, indicate it’s hard to scare visitors away from local beaches.
“It did raise concerns for the renters, but it didn’t stop them from coming here,” Hiatt said. “It seemed a little busier this year.”
In June, New Hanover County hotels collected 6.89 percent more in room occupancy taxes than last year, according to the Wilmington and Beaches Convention Visitors Bureau. Spokeswoman Connie Nelson said July and August numbers are not yet available, but after polling hotels and rental companies the bureau found the shark attacks probably did not hurt the area.
“According to the surveys we sent in June and July, there were relatively few cancellations as a result of shark encounters along N.C.’s coast,” Nelson wrote in an email.
Fourteen accommodations responded to a bureau poll in July about the attacks. While three-fourths of the businesses said they had received questions about sharks, just three reported a total of seven cancellations related to them.
If anything, marine life was a draw for many tourists. The N.C. Aquarium at Ft. Fisher had 61,621 visitors in June — a 15.69 percent increase from the previous June — and 82,066 visitors in July — a 7.96 percent increase, according to spokeswoman Robin Nalepa.
Hotel room tax numbers weren’t available from Brunswick and Pender counties, but officials from both areas said tourism was up this summer. Pender County Tourism Director Tammy Proctor CQ said efforts to market Pender County beaches, particularly in northern states from Ohio to New York, have paid off.
“Rentals were good — very strong all summer,” she said. “We have heard from a lot of our merchants that the heat drove a lot of people in during midday, and they shopped.”
Mitzi York CQ, executive director of the Brunswick County Tourism Development Authority, said her county’s profile is growing — both the beaches and the tourism authority’s website had more visitors this summer. York said she expected to end the summer season with a bang on Labor Day.
“If traffic in the grocery stores is any indication, we’re in for a very good weekend,” she said.
Contact Cammie.Bellamy@StarNewsOnline.com or 910-343-2339.
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