Many Merchants Had Their Day In Sun Some Businesses, But Not All Of Them, Had A Record-Setting Season

North Idaho unofficially closed out the summer tourist season over the Labor Day weekend as people swarmed the beaches, campgrounds and resorts.

For some businesses, the holiday was the last hurrah of a record-setting summer. But for others, the rush wasn’t enough to make up for a fickle tourism economy.

“We just didn’t see the people on the beaches this summer that we normally do,” said Irene Parks, owner of Coeur d’Alene Parasail. She estimated her business and some others on the popular lake were down nearly 20 percent this summer.

“The parking lot wasn’t full and we saw a drop in tourists in August, which is normally a great month,” Parks said. “We are all still trying to figure it out.”

The poor showing at the beach makes even less sense when many of the hotels and resorts in both Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint reported a strong season.

And Silverwood Theme Park had a record year with more than 248,000 visitors, thanks in part to the Grizzly, a new wooden, 55-mph roller coaster.

“It’s been a very mixed bag this year. Some businesses have done OK, others are down and very few are saying this has been a tremendous year,” said Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jonathan Coe.

By Coe’s count, tourist visits at the chamber were down about 25 percent.

“I don’t know what’s going on but there seems to be a decline regionally in tourism,” Coe said. “Visits at Yellowstone National Park are even down so I’ve been trying to tell folks we shouldn’t take this personally.”

Sharon Rench, who owns Sharon’s Hallmark, has been in business in Sandpoint for 29 years. Her store was one that didn’t suffer a tourism slump this summer.

“It started out slow but it was an up year,” Rench said. “The locals are my mainstay and tourists are the frosting, and I got the frosting this year. I keep hearing I should feel good because other stores in the area didn’t do so well.”

Keith Sheckler, owner of the Windbag Marina on Lake Pend Oreille, said last year was a disaster for tourists because of bad weather. This summer all he heard was tourism was down again, yet visitors seemed to materialize at his dock.

“I didn’t get the real rushes like usual and the weekends I expected to be busy I wasn’t, but it was steady,” he said. “Overall this was one of my better years. It wasn’t the best, but right in the top.”

Silverwood General Manager Dan Alyward said this summer was tough to read since the park drew record numbers and other businesses suffered slumps.

“Tourism is a hard business. I’ve talked to a number of people and some are doing well and some aren’t,” he said. “As far as the park goes we are looking at a great year, it’s just a matter of how great.”

Season passes and group sales were up nearly 50 percent, and the park posted several daily attendance records.

The new roller coaster drew a crowd, and that helped boost business in Coeur d’Alene, said Stacy Becker the city’s chamber of commerce spokesman.

“People have to come through Coeur d’Alene to get to the park and that impacts us because they stay in motels, buy gas and eat at restaurants,” she said. “From the reports I’m getting most of the businesses here were pretty happy with the summer.”

Although tourism takes a substantial dip after Labor Day, many businesses are hoping to cash in on stragglers through September.

“We are trained to wrap up the summer after Labor Day but there are many retired people and those without kids who travel in September to avoid the crowds,” Becker said. “We are hoping that happens and things don’t die too much after the weekend.”

, DataTimes