Visits to Yosemite Plummet after Terror Attacks

by Matt Leedy
The Fresno Bee - October 4, 2001


OAKHURST -- Business owners such as Don Olsen, who rely on visitors to Yosemite National Park, say the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have kept foreign tourists away, crippling the local economy.

Olsen, managing partner of the Oakhurst Lodge, said about 75% of those who planned to visit Yosemite from other countries and stay at his hotel canceled their reservations after the attacks.

"Business has dropped off the table," Olsen said.

The situation has improved slightly in recent days, Olsen said, but it still lags far behind last year's marks.

The lodge, which is about 15 miles from Yosemite's south gate, will rely on visitors from inside the state to help weather the economic drop-off.

"We have to ride it out -- for how long I don't know," Olsen said. "I'm hoping that Californians, who love to drive, will get back in their cars and visit us."

Most businesses that cater to Yosemite tourists have suffered, said Russ Holcomb, executive director of the Eastern Madera County Chamber of Commerce.

"At our last board meeting, everyone was saying business was down," Holcomb said. The chamber has 320 members, including business owners in North Fork, Bass Lake, Oakhurst and Coarsegold. "In hotels, there's been a cancellation rate nearly double what you'd normally see."
Mariposa motel operators also reported rising vacancy rates.

"Yosemite motels have had considerable cancellations -- more than 600, and one bed and breakfast has had more than 20," said Judy Beliera of the Mariposa County Visitors Bureau. Even her office is seeing the slowdown.

"It's down to about half [the number of people], even from last year," Beliera said.

Jerry Rankins, a spokesman for Yosemite Motels, said: "In Mariposa County, where the economy is tourism, the losses are in the hundreds of thousands [of dollars]."

There is hope: Tour packages have been canceled en masse, Rankin said, but many are beginning to reschedule for late this fall or early next year.

The park remained open during the days after the attacks, but rangers
conducted extra patrols, especially around Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the main water supply for the city of San Francisco.

The tourism situation around Yosemite is not as bad as it has been at other attractions in the state, officials said.

"Considering what other businesses have been facing in this climate, we've been fortunate, but we have felt it," said Karen Hales, spokeswoman for Yosemite Concession Services Corp. The company runs hotels, stores, tours and other services in Yosemite Valley.

Hales agreed that the downturn can be attributed to foreign tourists who either canceled trips after the air disasters or were stranded by grounded planes and the ban on international flights coming into the United States.

"We are looking at hours and the timing of our seasonal staffing," she said.
"Some of those [seasonal] positions may wrap up a week or so sooner than anticipated."