Tourism officials in Clallam and Jefferson counties are counting on a tourist season as good, if not better, than other years when gasoline prices were lower.
“Because so many of our visitors are already within a two-hour driving radius, it’s not a full tank of gas for them,” said Port Townsend Marketing Director Nancy Borino.
“Historically when gas prices have seen an increase, our visitor numbers are better or at least as good as when gas prices is not an issue.”
The rationale behind the increase in tourists is because Northwest residents aren’t traveling as far for vacations, Borino said.
“From all indications, things are looking up,” said Kristi Agren, director of tourism and marketing for the North Olympic Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau in Port Angeles.
At a recent Travel Industry Association of America conference in Los Angeles, Agren said those in the know predicted that tourists will still travel to the Olympic Peninsula.
“Even though the gas prices are high, we’re still optimistic,” Agren said Thursday.
The costs may keep North Olympic Peninsula residents closer to home, too, said Anna Manildi, executive director of Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts, which will hold its 11th festival in Port Angeles over Memorial Day weekend later this month.
Outside of Peninsula residents, Manildi said the festival draws most of its patrons from Seattle, Olympia or Portland — starting points that require only a tank of gas to reach Port Angeles by car.
And those who drive generally come in groups, off-setting the cost of gas, Manildi said.
‘Expensive resource’
“Gasoline’s an expensive resource,” she said.
“I think this is just something that we have to get used to and budget for like we do anything else.”
