The gas price - tourist tango

A drop in gas prices is seen as a white knight at area tourism offices. Still, most in the tourism industry remain cautious about the outlook for 2009, while others face a slide in customers.

"We're more of a drive than fly location. Now that gas prices have dropped, that's good for us," said Candace Duncan, executive director at Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau."But we budgeted conservatively because the economy was suffering."

In Carson Valley, Bill Chernock, executive director of Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Authority, said, "It's difficult to be remarkably optimistic considering the state of the national economy but in Carson Valley we have a terrific product, accessible to our drive market."

At Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe, Marketing Director Mike Pierce says,"Even during tough times people still recreate. People still ski. The casino packages out of Reno are the most unbelievable, like Sands' Ski and Stay package for $59."

The sputtering economy has put the brakes on new projects launched by tourism agencies. Carson City, says Duncan, will just do the events it has done, but won't take on anything new. The tourism bureau provides staff time, advertising and marketing help, but event organizers must raise their own operating funds.

The Carson Valley bureau also puts the responsibility for new events on their operators.

"We're counting on the ingenuity of individual event producers," says Chernock."But all the usual festivals are going to be there."

Still, he adds,"We do expect an impact. The hotels will have to be price sensitive. Being an affordable destination, we're being prepared to weather an economically tough year."

But hard times have an upside, says Susan Sutton, executive director of Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority.

"The good ship tourism is in rocky waters with big white caps. But this is an opportunity for growth and brand development, to get creative and devise new programs."

Virginia City has partnered with Ely, Elko and Tonopah to create group tours such as "America's Wild West Nevada" designed to bring in tourists by the busload from San Francisco, Las Vegas and Utah. And a "Dig Mines" promotion brings tours to Nevada's mining towns.

"Individual visitors are great," she says, "but we also want eight busloads coming through here."

Reno Sparks Visitor and Convention Authority Executive Director Ellen Oppenheim says that nationally, the industry expects flat or reduced revenues this year because consumers are taking shorter trips closer to home.

Despite Reno's position as a drive market for the Bay Area, 2008 room tax revenues fell below budget forecasts. To boost that tourist segment, the RSCVA is airing a new ad campaign, "Reno Rules," in Bay Area print and broadcast media. The Bay Area is the source of 56 percent of the visitors to Reno-Tahoe.