Monday, November 14, 2011

Don't doubt we are a tourist economy.

If any Bend residents doubt we are a tourist economy, they should own a store in downtown Bend.

This month has really sucked, after 3 good months in a row. I think -- think -- I'll beat last year, but only because last year November was so dreadful.

When did November become the worst month? Even with the Black Friday shopping, it can't seem to raise itself from the muck.

Used to be -- September and January were the worst months for my store, and that correlated with the kids being in or out of school. As my customer base got older, this stopped being true. In fact, September is a pretty good month these days. I think that correlates with retired folk still traveling in moderate weather. I also don't see the huge percentage drops in January and February that I used to see. To which I must attribute to Winter sports visitors.

The bottomline is -- we are slow in-between tourist seasons. Late October and early November, for instance. Late April and early May for another instance.

We need the circulation from visitor's -- whether vacationers or visiting family.

It's what Bend does these days.

2 comments:

Melissa said...

At the High Desert Museum, Nov, Dec. and Jan are all low months, even with the boost during the weeks off school. We always hope for enough snow to bring them over, then rain to keep them off the slopes! Just joking, skiers...

Duncan McGeary said...

"We always hope for enough snow to bring them over, then rain to keep them off the slopes!"

I have the same thought every winter.