As the summer season gets underway, small business owners in U.S. tourist destinations are seeing an increase in domestic tourism. With higher airfares and gasoline prices making vacations more expensive, many Americans are opting for road trips and daylong sojourns over extended beach stays.
Local Businesses Benefit
According to Tarik Dogru, an associate professor at Florida State University’s Dedman College of Hospitality, the current economic and tourism dynamics are likely to redirect spending toward small businesses, such as regional restaurants, local attractions, and roadside businesses along drive routes that serve budget-conscious and close-to-home travel.
In Lake Tahoe, which straddles California and Nevada, several businesses have reported an increase in visitors driving in from cities along the West Coast. Ron Williams, who owns Tahoe Sports, said he was pleasantly surprised with how well the business is doing, with future bookings 10% higher compared to the same time last year.
Regional Tourism on the Rise
In Asheville, North Carolina, small business owners have seen a rebound in tourism since Hurricane Helene and flooding caused widespread destruction to the city’s landscape, buildings, and infrastructure in September 2024. Aubrey Anderson, who owns a river tubing outfitter in Asheville, reduced her summer staff from 100 people to 25 after the hurricane but has since hired 50 workers for the current season.
Factory tours offered by French Broad Chocolate have also surged this summer, with tour-takers often stopping in the on-site cafe for ice cream or coffee and buying a box of chocolate bars or bonbons before they leave.
Cities hosting World Cup matches, such as Kansas City, Missouri, have seen a boost in tourism, with soccer enthusiasts pouring in from other Midwestern cities. Made in KC, a chain of cafes and shops that sells locally made sauces and Kansas City-themed gifts, has seen a noticeable spike in traffic at all its locations during the tournament.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
