|
|
|
|
|
| |
|||
Asian economic crisis, El Nino and fee increases are cited.
By Benjamin
Pimentel
San Francisco Chronicle - October 6, 1998
Despite being open for 21/2 more months in 1998 than in the previous year,
it appears Yosemite National Park will have fewer than 4 million visitors
for the second year in a row, according to figures supplied by the National
Park Service.
Many officials say the causes for the drop are the Asian financial crisis,
residuals from the "100-year" flood of January 1997, and El Nino.
Critics of the National Park Service saw another cause: fees that increased
from $5 to $20 per car and from $100 per bus to $300. The fees were implemented
in 1997.
"For us not to make up any significant increase from 1997 to 1998 is very
disappointing," said Paul Ratchford, general manager of Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite
in Fish Camp. "I think the fee increase has a lot to do with this."
Before 1997, park attendance had surpassed the 4 million mark for three consecutive
years. In 1997, the numbers were down because the park was closed from January
to mid-March due to flooding.
From April to December 1997, nearly 3.6 million people visited the park-about
150,000 more than the expected total for the same period this year.
For businesses that depend on tourism, the dropoff is a source of concern.
"We're not a ghost town, yet " said Steve Hayes, the director of the Mariposa
County Visitors Bureau. But is it a challenge for us? You bet."
By the end of November, 3.7 million people had passed through park gates.
With December being a traditionally slow month because of cold weather, park
officials expect to end up with slightly more than 3.8 million visitors his
year. Last year, when the park was closed for 21/2 months, it had 3,801,397.
"This year's numbers compared with last year's show this is another very depressed
period," said James Watkins, president of the Eastern Madera County Chamber
of Commerce.
"The cost of $20, I'm sure, deters many visitors, especially those from the
Central Valley who just come for the day."
Although businesses said fee increases have hurt revenues, the National Park
Service has seen the opposite effect.
The U.S. General Accounting Office reported this month that Yosemite will
receive an extra $14.5 million this year for park operations because of the
higher entrance fees. The extra money has boosted the park's standard operating
budget by 76%.
The recently released visitation estimates are made monthly using traffic
sensors that judge the weight of vehicles, said park spokesman Scott Gediman.
Raw numbers are plugged into formulas to account for employee traffic, large
tours, single visitors and sensor malfunctions, with the results yielding
the total number of visitations.
From 1994 to 1996, the park had more than 4.1 million visitors a year, peaking
at 4,190,557 in 1996. Since then, attendance has fallen.
One reason given is the Asian financial crisis, which began in June 1997 and
has reverberated throughout most of the globe.
And now in Yosemite.
"The Pacific Rim crisis has had a tremendous effect in day tours," said Keith
Walklet, a spokesman for Yosemite Concession Services, a private company that
contracts with the park to provide a variety of services. "We're just not
seeing as many Pacific Rim tour groups."
Gediman confirmed that there has been a decrease in the number of tour buses
in Yosemite.
"We used to have a lot of people who would come from China or Taiwan. and
we would take them to Yosemite," said Margaret Sayah, a tour coordinator for
Best Tours and Travel in Fresno. "With the economy over there, we're just
not booking as many."
Sayah said the park's new bus entry fees coupled with the financial crisis
have made it tough for overseas customers.
"We used to have two to three buses to Yosemite a week, even in winter," Sayah
said. "We haven't had near that many this year. We've only had one or two
since November."
The January 1997 flood also has had residual effects.
Gediman said both the Upper River and Lower River campgrounds, each with about
350 campsites, have been closed all year. Add that to about 200 rooms at the
Yosemite Lodge that were not available, and the park lost the potential for
4,000 visitors a night, Gediman said.
"Even if the day use stays the same, you're down simply because of the overnight
use."
Gediman said it was important to note that 20 years ago, the park only had
about 2 million visitors annually.
"If it only fluctuates between 200,000 and 300,000 a year now, in the long
term it's not that much," Gediman said.
El Nino weather conditions also played a part in the numbers staying below
the 4 million mark.
Tourism throughout California was down by 2.9% for the first six months of
1998, with weather being a major factor, said California Division of Tourism
spokesman Fred Sater. From January to June this year, Sater said, the state
had about 119 million tourists, compared with 123 million for the same period
in 1997.
That decline spilled over to Yosemite.
"At the beginning of the year, El Nino gave us a bit of a whammy," Walklet
said. "It was beautiful here, but nobody was traveling."
Although businesses have not begun to panic, many have voiced their concerns.
"We're not drying up and blowing away, but businesses are reporting to me
that they are falling off and are concerned," said Hayes of the Visitors Bureau.
"At some point, we are going to start feeling the effects, and businesses
might not be able to go on."
While revenue was up by about 18% from last year for Yosemite Concessions,
Walklet said that wasn't enough to account for 21/2 extra months.
"We actually had a decrease in business," Walklet said. "Tour groups were
down 3% in the months we were open."
Whatever the causes, many businesses are afraid 1999 won't prove to be any
better.
"We have more availability in the first part of 1999 than we had in 1998,"
Tenaya Lodge's Ratchford said. "I think a lot of us are going to experience
some tough times next year."
Others might have a different outlook on the numbers.
"In a lot of people's minds, less visitors is better," Gediman said. "It means
more of the park for them."
PARK ATTENDANCE
While the number of visitors to Yosemite National Park steadily rose for most
of the 1990s, a number of factors have contributed to a decline in the last
two years.
|
Year |
Total visits |
|
1990 |
3,234,207 |
|
1991 |
3,542,666 |
|
1992 |
3,952,495 |
|
1993 |
3,983,749 |
|
1994 |
4,105 755 |
|
1995 |
4,102,264 |
|
1996 |
4,190,557 |
|
1997 |
3,801 397 |
|
1998 |
3,805,975* |
Source: U.S.
Department of Interior, National Park Service
*Includes an estimated 125,000 visitors in December. From January to November,
the park had 3,680,975 visitors.
|
|
|
|