Staycations could boost Minnesota's tourism industry - Mpls./St. Paul Business Travel Guide

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Last year at this time, gas prices rose to more than $4 per putting the brakes on traditional summerroad trips. Now gas is back around $2 a but a deep recession lingersx after putting hundreds of thousands of Americanx out of work and causing millions more to rein inthei spending. “Gas prices are not as much of a concer right now as theoverall economy, consumed confidence and people’s concerns about their jobs and retirements,” said John who has been executive director of for the past nine Consequently, this will be a particularlu challenging year for Minnesota operators, though there is hope that Minnesotanx who travel will do so closer to At Madden’s on Gull Lake in owner and General Manager C.
Brian Thuringer said this has beenthe “most of the four or five recessionsd he has seen during his 36 years at the “This is the first time that the bottom has reallt fallen out,” Thuringer said. there was always that feeling that there was a slump andthings weren’t flowing, but tomorrow was goingb to be great. This is the first time when peoplde don’t really know when tomorrow is.” A recent survey conductedd by Explore Minnesota found that 57 perceng ofthe state’s lodging businesses saw revenue and occupanchy decline in April and May as compared to a year ago.
51 percent of Minnesota hotel and campgrounds operators said they expect business to remaihn flat or increase this summer compared to last About 60 percent of survey respondents described the financial health of theire businessesas “growing” or “stable, but positive.” Therer are some concerns abouty declining rates, but overall, Edman expects this to be a relativelt strong summer for the state’s $11 billion-a-year tourism industry. The statd typically generates about 37 percent ofits travel-relate revenue during the months of June, July and August, and he thinks those peak months will be busy again this “People are still going to want to Edman said.
“They’re just goinvg to travel differently than they did inthe past. People still need to get away for stress reliet andhealth reasons.” The biggest difference this Edman predicts, will be wherer people decide to go. He expects that most people will stay closere to home andbook shorter, less-expensive trip s within driving distance of where they live. That’s why Explor e Minnesota is changing itsmarketing approach. Typically, it spends abouty 80 percent of its marketing budgeyt to promote the stateto nonresidents, with the remaining 20 percenft aimed at locals; this that split is closer to 60-40.
“We don’t have oceansz and we don’t have mountains, but we do have a lot of thinge thatare unique,” Edman said. “Whether it’s fishing or hikingb or biking, those are relatively low-cosrt activities that you can do here. You don’t have to go That could bode well forMinnesota resorts, as Twin Citiesw residents book trips to Duluth or Brainerd, instead of venturing on cross-country trips, said Dave president and CEO of Hospitality which oversees the state’s lodging, and resort and campground “I think it’s going to be a good he said. “… I’m not projecting an but I expect [resorts] to hold their own.
” Camping and fishingt also could see a boost in popularity this Siegel said. Meanwhile, officials at Minneapolis’ convention and visitores bureau, Meet Minneapolis, remains “cautiousl optimistic” about business this summer, said President and CEO Melvij Tennant. “A lot of our hospitality-industrhy executives believe we’ve either hit bottom or are close tohittingg bottom, and that from this poing on, we’re going to be able to see some very modes growth.
… I think this summer could be very good for Meet Minneapolis advertisedits “Downtown Sizzle” which includes discount packages at 12 participating hotelsd through September, with 450,000 promotional inserts in newspaperes in the Twin Cities; Duluth; Des Moines, Fargo, N.D.; Madison, Wis.; Milwaukee; and Winnipeg, Getting a true read on the summer hospitality businessw is difficult, however, because people are waitinh longer to book their trips. So even the northernb Minnesota resorts that anticipate a busy summer still have numerous opening s duringpeak months. “It’s a much more last-minute vacation-planningh experience,” Siegel said.
“I think that’s understandable. If peoplse are nervous about thei r jobs or theireconomic futures, they’rre waiting until they have a greater degree of security before they make that reservation.”