Tourism keeping Ore. coast businesses afloat
ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) - On a sea of nationwide economic troubles, several business sectors on the North Coast appear to be floating just fine.
Business may not have been up this summer, but it wasn't down either.
"It was an absolutely average summer," said Sam Rascoe, director of marketing with the Clatsop County Historical Society, which oversees three museums in Astoria: the Flavel House, the Heritage Museum and the new Oregon Film Museum.
"Average" is perfectly fine by Jon Rahl, director of tourism marketing at the Seaside Visitors' Bureau. In fact, compared to business and tourism industries across the nation, it's better than fine.
"'Same as last year' means we're not losing ground," he said. Hotel business, he added, was even up by about 10 percent.
For some local businesses, especially hotels, it's been the best summer on record.
The summer kicked off to a good start with the Goonies 25th Anniversary celebration in June, which proved to be a bigger money-maker for area businesses than Memorial Day, drawing thousands of people. Events throughout the summer - the beach volleyball tournament and the Hood to Coast Relay in Seaside, for example - also kept North Coast streets full and local businesses hopping.
It was the best year the Cannery Pier Hotel in Astoria has had since it opened, said Manager Don West. The Commodore Hotel, also in Astoria, had a "fantastic August," said Manager Michael Claussen. "It was our best month since we opened the hotel."
Thanks in part to the initial surge and (later) steady stream of Goonies fans, the Oregon Film Museum in Astoria exceeded everyone's expectations after it opened at the beginning of June. Curators hoped to draw at least 10,000 people in the first year. In just the first month, they saw more than 3,000.
Across town, Tim Allwein, owner of Amazing Stories Comics and Games on Commercial Street, made enough money during the four-day Goonies celebration to pay off all the store's winter bills.
Mostly, though, it depends on who you talk to, said Doug Barker, an event coordinator with the Seaside Chamber of Commerce. A poor economy and an unusually cold, wet summer took their toll.
In Seaside, motels did well and restaurants did well, he said. Retail, in general, did not.
"People have to eat. They have to sleep. They don't have to buy," he explained.
Rahl, Seaside's marketing director, agreed. Business managers and owners he talked to said they overheard more than one conversation between families where the parents cautioned their kids, "Well, we only can spend this much money today..."
Labor Day weekend at the comic store was merely "good," Allwein said. The weather throughout the summer has definitely been an issue.
"It was a little bit of a handicap," he said. "We had a lot of gray days that kept people elsewhere. When the weather is nicer in Portland or Seattle, not a lot of people come."
This summer's dismal weather may have discouraged some people, but it certainly didn't discourage everyone.
"We've had some days when the streets were just jam-packed, even in bad weather," said Jeanne Clark, an event coordinator with the Seaside Chamber of Commerce. "But," she added, "maybe they were all Oregonians."
This year, several of the coastal towns put more effort into advertising campaigns, hoping to draw in tourists and tourist dollars. The marketing seems to have paid off.
"Everyone's done a good job making this a destination spot instead of a place you drive through," said Skip Hauke, executive director of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber worked on campaigns targeted at the Seattle and Portland area.
The Seaside chamber, meanwhile, launched a new website, seasidenaturally.com, which has garnered thousands of hits since it went live in June, Clark said. It highlights activities people can do in the area that are outdoor-oriented and cheap.
"If you judge by the traffic through town, I think it was a good year overall," Hauke said. "Trying to get on Highway 30 when everyone was leaving after the Labor Day weekend was nearly impossible."
Many businesses are hoping for a late summer, which could stretch the typical "season" well into September and the beginning of October.
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Daily Astorian reporter Ben Schorzman contributed to this story.
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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com