Trying to glean something from the tourism stats in the Bulletin today. Not sure there is much there to learn. I suppose I'm just a little surprised by eating/drinking being 2.5 times as much as retail. But not really, when I think about prices. Who goes on vacation specifically to shop, anyway?
But, if they do take time out to shop, seems to me they'll try Downtown or the Old Mill first, and they'll try funky 'pop-culture' shops. At least, I hope so.
Maybe the biggest eye-opener is how much is spent on "recreation." Higher than retail sales. I'm not exactly sure what this entails...renting boats and bikes; guided tours; campground fees?
Over the years, the browsing element of my business has gotten bigger and bigger. Used to be, I'd get destination 'comic' customers. Now, they seem to just stumble across me. I think it's because most comic customers I know are already overwhelmed by selection and aren't looking for more.
On the other hand, I have so much interesting and cool stuff that my success rate with browsers is hugely higher.
Like I said, not a lot there that says anything. I'm optimistic that we'll not see a huge drop off in tourism. I think the drop in sales has come from locals more than from tourists, so far. Hard to say. Stats like this just don't reveal much.
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