News: Terrorism fears keep tourists coming

http://www.pointbuzz.com/news.htm?id=1017

I was at Put-In-Bay this year on a weekday at it was PACKED. I’ve never seen it so crowded there with lines for booze and food.

It’s kinda baffling why CP has not seen its attendance spike if tourism at the islands is doing so well. I disagree that the two are so differently effected by gas/weather/economyas the article makes it seem. They are both seasonal operations, May-August with big weekends in the fall. They also are directly affected by gas prices, as it’s nearly the same distance by car from Cleveland or Detroit to the islands. Both rely on good weather, as most of the island activities are outdoors or require moving outside to get from place to place (unless you are sitting inside the Roundhouse getting drunk all day ;).)

Both are going to cost a family similar cash for a day trip. It’s $12-$40 per person just to get there depending on the ferry line (though the parking is free.) Then another $30-$60 to rent bikes or a cart to actually get around (and you don’t need slack on the golf cart seatbelts.) The food is just as pricey as CP’s, and with all the tourist traps it really begins to add up.

I've always lumped CP and the Islands in the same boat, as they are both North Coast Ohio Summer treasures. Despite the Gas/weather/economy concerns that CP cites the islands are doing great.

Families eat those islands up during the day. Perhaps people think CP has become too “thrill” oriented in the past few years and would rather do activities the whole family is willing to do together?

That's a good point Joe.

I wonder if any of it has to do with guests feeling like they are no longer getting a good value at CP? I'm not talking so much about the admission price (because I believe people will still pay dearly for a quality experience), but rather everything else that CP has done (or hasn't done) over the past few years. The seatbelt fiasco on MF, the declining efficiency, the discontinuation of Freeway, cuts to the hours, etc. While the effects of each one of these things might be somewhat minimal, you can not tell me that all of them combined add up to nothing and that the economy in the midwest is the only reason people aren't coming.

According to the numbers, the park is not as popular now as ever. In a six or seven year period, the park will have lost nearly half a million visitors - and that is even with building some pretty big rides during that time.

I know I've personally said plenty on these subjects, but I really do think they're playing a role and I think management needs to take their collective heads out of the sand and address these things.

In addition to the islands, the Tigers are selling out almost every game now and Holiday World is having another big year. I'm pretty sure those two things have more to do with the product that is being offered than the price of admission. Offering a great product - in CP's case, an experience that people can't get anywhere else - is what gives any company pricing power.

Who draws these ridiculous conclusions? Disney World attendance has gone up year after year after 9/11. Vegas was a complete zoo when I was there.

Fear of flying my ass. This is self-stroking puff journalism. Say that local tourism is up, sure, but if you're going to draw conclusions about national conditions, do a little research.

And what is this nonsense about people not coming to Cedar Point? Attendance is still well within the 3.1 to 3.4 million range that it has been for the last decade. September and October in particular grow by leaps and bounds every year. I don't know where you get this gloom and doom stuff about attendance.