Plenty of visitors came to South Lake Tahoe, but they were thrifty

As summer comes to an end, tourism officials say the season brought a good number of visitors to town - but they didn't spend as much as usual when they got here.

For example, instead of eating at restaurants the entire time, many visitors opted to shop at the grocery store and have a picnic, said Carol Chaplin, executive director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority.

"You may not be buying that extra T-shirt this year," Chaplin said.

Jerry Bindel, president of the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association, said he noticed that more visitors to his property, Lakeland Village, were barbecuing and cooking in their rented units than in previous years.

Transient occupancy tax collected in South Lake Tahoe for the first half of 2008 exceeds last year by $270,098 at this time.

According to Smith Travel Research, the occupancy rate in July for Reno was 60.8 percent, Napa was 72.1 percent and the South Shore was 63 percent. All areas' occupancy rates were down from July 2007.

Chaplin said Lake Tahoe performed favorably by running in the middle of the pack with other competitive regional destinations, such as Napa, Palm Springs, Reno and Monterey.

"We're still in the minds of our markets as a destination to go to," Chaplin said.

Bindel said properties that were on the beach fared better than other areas at Tahoe.

Mike Frye, LTVA sales and special events coordinator, said South Shore fared well partly because the area had more options that were easy on the wallet.

For example, people could camp instead of staying in hotels - an option not available if you are in Napa or Reno, Frye said.

Other industries did well over the summer. Cynthia Ferris-Bennett, Internet chair for the South Lake Tahoe Wedding & Honeymoon Association, said there wasn't a decline in business at all.

And next season looks promising, too. Ferris-Bennett said she's already booking events for next year, and so are other association members.

Although it appears tourism fared well over the summer, the South Shore has seen a recent wave of business closures, including South Shore Motors, Miller's Outpost, Big Dogs and Geoffrey Beene.

Geoffrey Beene officials stated the reason for the store's closure in an e-mail this week.

"Because of the current poor retail economic climate and a number of business factors, on May 28, 2008, the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation made a very difficult decision to close the Geoffrey Beene retail division. All stores will be closed by year-end 2008," the e-mail stated.

David Kelly, South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce executive director, said the state of the economy makes it difficult for businesses to succeed.

"This is going to be a time where businesses have to do business with each other," he said.

If people continue to shop off the hill and not support the small businesses at the lake, things aren't going to get much better, Kelly said.

South Lake Tahoe City Manager David Jinkens also emphasized the importance of shopping locally.

"We need to create in the city an incentive to keep people shopping locally," Jinkens said in an e-mail. "We must repeat over and over again the importance of shopping and dining locally to our community (keep tax dollars local, reduce commute, reduce pollution and keep local people employed). Businesses as well must offer products and services people want and need, and many local businesses do a fine job."

Kelly said that his own personal opinion is that the area is in for tough times ahead, especially with the Red Hawk Casino opening soon. The casino is in Shingle Springs and would be easier for many to get to than traveling up to Lake Tahoe.

Gaming win for South Shore casinos rose 10.9 percent in July as compared with July 2007, benefiting from strong table-games play during the celebrity golf tournament, an analyst said. That followed a 24 percent dip in gaming win for June at the South Shore, according to figures from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Everyone agrees that a good winter will help turn things around.

The U.S. dollar is weak right now, so an early snow would help pick things up, Chaplin said.

"We want snow the day after Halloween," Bindel said. "We want a big snowstorm Nov. 1."