ESCANABA - According to national polls, Americans won't travel as much or as far this summer, despite cheaper gas prices. Instead, trends show people taking shorter trips, either camping, fishing or visiting parks.
Gary Branz, parks operations manager for Pioneer Trail Park, said his records show this May has been quite a bit busier than last year, and a lot of the campers are from around the area.
"Memorial Day weekend was a very busy weekend for us, which is not ordinarily the case," he said. "Now we're getting a lot of reservations for Fourth of July weekend, so it's ahead of the curve."
Branz said it seems more people are taking "mini-vacations," taking shorter trips and staying closer to home.
"Instead of taking a long extended vacation they're taking a shorter one," he said. "There are groups of people who know each other from town who are banding together to do weekends at the park."
According to a USA Today poll, 18 percent of all U.S. adults say they are going to travel somewhere closer to home and 22 percent say
they are going to cut back on travel costs, such as food, transportation and lodging.
Branz said he thinks this trend is happening here because of gas prices and the economy.
"Quite a few people are from the local area...looking for a less expensive recreation experience instead of going on vacation someplace else," he said.
Chris Wahl, one of the owners of Bay View Bait & Tackle, Gladstone, said he has yet to see a significant increase in recreational equipment sales, however, he said he has heard many customers reveal their travel plans, which include short-distance trips.
"A lot of people comment on how in years past they might take trip to Canada, but now it's so expensive and such a hassle going across the border that now a lot of people, especially from Wisconsin and the Lower Peninsula, are deciding to fish here instead," he said.
With this new trend, boating could regain its popularity as a recreational activity since gas prices are down. Cheryl Syers, Escanaba Recreation Department office assistant, said although transient boat traffic has been slow because of the unusually cold weather this month, seasonal slip holders have increased by 4 percent, compared to last year at this time.
"Last year, we were competitive with the previous year, but this year we've surprisingly seen a 4 percent increase in slip holders," she said. "I think people are choosing to stay local and because gas prices are lower than at this time last year, it has helped to increase our slip holders."
Syers said the recreation department expects to see an increase in transients once the weather warms up.
Fuller Park Camp Host Arlene Anzalone, said Memorial Day at the park was full, which is not unusual for the campground.
"The last two weekends we've had a few campers," she said. "There have been people coming through. It's pretty much the same as year."
Sall-Mar Resort & Hotel owner Kevin Lee said she's also seen about the same numbers of travelers as last year.
Bay de Noc Convention & Visitors Bureau Director Steve Masters said, this year's tourism efforts are focused on Green Bay as an important market, since it's only two hours away from here. The hope is to bring in people in neighboring states for the big local, summer events such as the Bark River Off-Road Races, Fourth of July events, the U.P. State Fair, and the various fishing tournaments, to name a few,
"We're primarily focused on out of the market...trying to get people to spend the night, stay in our hotels, hoping staying in hotels, hoping it will encourage people to stay the night in our area.
