top sites to see in usa: Fascinating popular summer attractions in the USA
Tim Cafferty owns a vacation rental company in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and he is optimistic about the arrival of summer, but he is also doing everything he can to attract potential vacationers.
His company, Outer Banks Blue, launched a special promotion in March, offering a 15% discount on bookings. He encouraged homeowners to lower their prices. Additionally, for the first time, he allowed tourists to book many of the 300 houses managed by the company for just a few days, rather than requiring them to stay for a full week.
All of these boosted his sales, but there are still some surprisingly vacant properties. Mr. Carfatti said that the week of July 4th, a desirable rental season, was “somehow” very weak. There are still more properties available in late August than in previous years, which may be because people are waiting until the last minute to book their vacation plans.
Finally, Mr. Carfatti said that considering the uncertain economic environment, he would consider himself lucky if the occupancy rate of the Bund Blue Hotel this summer is the same as last year.
“People are ready to come,” he said. “They’re just looking for a good price.”
Facing these worrying trends, Mr. Carferty’s cautious optimism indicates that businesses in many popular resort destinations are facing a critical summer.Although American consumers are showing some signs of nervousness amid concerns about rising prices and the prospect of a recession, many businesses catering to domestic tourists are still cautiously preparing for what they expect to be a relatively normal summer surge in visitors.
Their optimism is not without basis. In recent years, despite concerns that consumer spending would collapse under soaring inflation and high borrowing costs, consumer spending has remained robust and driven economic growth even when the economic outlook has been uncertain.
Summer will put the latest stress test on this sunny spending pattern, with the lifeblood of many resort towns at stake.
“Everything is scary right now,” said Gary Jonas, owner of a bar and food truck lot called “Little Fleet” in Traverse City, Michigan. Traverse City is a summer resort destination in northern Michigan known for its cherries and vineyards. “We can only pray that things will be like previous years.”
American consumers typically spend their money on travel and leisure activities during the summer. Airlines, hotels, and short-term rental companies all rely on a surge in bookings. The summer population boom also promotes the prosperity of seaside cafes, souvenir shops, ice cream stores, and resorts, bringing benefits to the local economies of destination areas.
But this year, consumers are facing a series of severe situations that may limit their summer spending. Since President Trump introduced tariff measures at the beginning of this year, their confidence in the economy has significantly declined. Stock market volatility has also made some consumers more worried.
So far, consumers are still spending. But to a large extent, they no longer have the savings accumulated during the pandemic that allowed them to spend more freely. Credit card debt that is 90 days or more overdue is rising across all income levels, and household debt is also continuously increasing. In conference calls with investors, consumer-facing companies reported that customers are cutting back on non-essential expenses such as dining out and snacks, and warned that tariffs would force them to raise prices.
If tariffs are raised when Trump’s 90-day suspension period ends, this will bring additional pressure to consumers, who may suddenly find themselves facing higher costs for goods and services, just as summer is about to enter its peak period.
“Travel demand is falling,” said Laura Rosner Warburton, senior economist at forecasting firm MacroPolicy Perspectives. She pointed out that hotel and airfare prices have fallen, indicating that consumers are cutting back on leisure spending. “This is a sign of an economic slowdown,” she said.
There are also some bright spots in the summer business. The tourism industry typically performs well during economic weakness, but it gets hit if conditions become severe enough. For example, travel spending declined during and after the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Currently, the labor market remains strong, without the kind of mass unemployment that typically leads to reduced spending. American tourists, especially those with lower incomes, may also boost domestic tourism destinations, as they might choose to vacation within the United States rather than travel abroad.
Data from the Conference Board shows that the proportion of consumers planning to take a domestic vacation within the next six months rebounded in May, reaching about 42%.
“I expect domestic travel to be higher this year than in previous years,” said David Tinsley, economist at the Bank of America Institute. The institute found that middle- and low-income households are more likely to drive to their destinations rather than fly.
“This is consistent with the idea that people are being more cautious,” he said.
It is the frugality of consumers that makes Brian Gagnon, president of the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, confident about the coming months. Lake of the Ozarks, an artificial lake located in central Missouri, is a beloved road trip destination for Midwestern residents, and he hopes this will attract more tourists looking to save money this summer.
Mr. Gagnon also runs a swimwear shop called “Summer USA” in the area. He said that the foot traffic on Bagnell Dam Strip, the main shopping and dining street, has been consistently high. The annual car show held in May sold out tickets within days. Currently, his store’s sales have slightly increased compared to last year.
“We will closely monitor the situation and keep up with all developments,” he said. “But I think, based on what we’re seeing now, things look quite optimistic.”
The president of the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce said he hopes Lake of the Ozarks can be a good summer travel option for people in the Midwest region who want to save on airfare costs.
For places like New York that heavily rely on overseas tourists, the situation could be quite different. Research firm Tourism Economics predicts that due to economic and political uncertainties, foreign tourists are reluctant to travel to the United States, and by 2025, the number of international visitors to the U.S. will decrease by 9.4%.
Some business owners are also preparing for the possibility that tourists might be less willing to spend money this year.
Nick Sharp, an executive at a restaurant company called “Rex’s Family of Restaurants” in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, said he plans to more actively promote discounts during happy hours and reduce staff at his six restaurants. One of them, a Mexican restaurant called “Salt & Lime”, is introducing a cheaper lunch menu instead of having the same prices for lunch and dinner.
He said: “Our mindset revolves around this consumer sentiment situation, where people don’t have no money yet, they’re just not sure if they’ll have the money they would normally spend.“
On a series of barrier islands in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, businesses are also adapting to the current economic situation and holding their breath.
Mark Ballog, owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head, North Carolina, said that despite the high price of fish, he doesn’t plan to raise prices this summer because he’s worried about “scaring away customers.” He expects his signature 16-inch New York-style pizza to sell in large quantities this year to families looking for cheaper meal options.
But his outlook isn’t dim. “I’m very hopeful,” he said.
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