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Attendance appears as if it will fall to a 12-year low
by Matt Leedy
The Fresno Bee, December 23, 2001
Yosemite National Park is on pace to have its lowest attendance since 1990,
and officials attribute the decline to a slumping economy and tourists who
have grown leery of long-distance travel.
More than 3.4 million people visited the park this year from January through November, according to statistics kept by Yosemite officials. Last year, slightly more than 3.55 million tourists entered Yosemite, with almost 132,000 visiting in December.
If the park attracts the same number of visitors this month as it did last December, it would mark the fifth consecutive year Yosemite has shown decreased attendance.
"I imagine it's a reflection of the economic situation around the country," said Rick Smith, Yosemite's chief of interpretation. "So people are picking and choosing when they want to travel and where."
Smith believes fewer people are willing to travel long distances to see Yosemite but thinks the park is attracting slightly more California visitors.
Hotels that cater to Yosemite visitors have also noticed a decrease in tourism.
"It actually started Sept 11," said Janet Beatty, who manages the front desk for the Narrow Gauge Inn in Fish Camp, about four miles from Yosemite's south entrance. "We immediately had a drop because people weren't flying in."
Park officials have redesigned Yosemite's Web site in an effort to reach out to more tourists who would be traveling from outside the state.
The park's local publications also have been upgraded and are sent to area visitor centers and chambers of commerce.
"We try to get out as much information as we can about the park," Smith said. "We tell them how to prepare, how to get here and what to suspect from different seasons. For instance, we tell them to bring chains in the winter."
Yosemite plans to install credit-card machines at the park's entrances by next spring, which officials hope will help track park visitation patterns.
Yosemite has a $20 entrance fee, and 80% of the money is used to improve and maintain the park. Yosemite has paid to upgrade exhibits, bolster education programs and install more restrooms with the entrance fees. Smith said.
At Sequoia National Park officials project their annual attendance will be slightly higher than last year's.
From January to October, Se-quoia attracted 817,116 visitors. In 2000, the park drew 839,307 tourists.
Sequoia officials said they don't put a high priority on marketing the park. Instead, they work to satisfy the visitors.
"We are not particularly in the business of attracting or discour-aging visitors," said William Tweed, Sequoia's chief of interpretation. "We accommodate the people who come and make sure they know what we have to offer."
Tweed said local national park officials cannot control the two primary causes of attendance fluctuation: weather and gasoline prices.
"Dry winters
attract more visitors," Tweed said. "It simply allows us to open
our facilities earlier. To have all campgrounds open by Memorial Day is considered
a full success.
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