"I think it has slowed things up," says Chris Ruttger, manager of Ruttger's Bay Lodge, a 167-unit resort in Deerwood. Despite an improved economy, his resort is having a "below average" summer, he says.
Terry Mattson, head of the Duluth Convention and Visitors Bureau, says cool weather has hurt "everything but sweatshirt sales." Some resort owners worry that this year's cold, rainy, windy conditions may keep people from reserving lodging next year.
As a statewide industry, tourism is as big as agriculture, generating $9 billion in revenues and employing 230,000 people, according to Explore Minnesota Tourism, the new name for the state of Minnesota's tourism bureau. Measured by travelers, the northern regions account for more than a third of the industry, according to John Edman, head of Explore Minnesota Tourism.
Despite the chill on northern resorts, Minnesota's lodging occupancy rates have outpaced the nation — up 7.2% in June compared with a 3.3% increase in the nation, according to Smith Travel Research. Most of the increase has come from tourists flocking to the Twin Cities, where hotel occupancy is up by double digits. Dragging down the average are Duluth, whose lodging fell 1.7% in June, and the rest of northern Minnesota, which was up an anemic 2.2%.
The summer has been consistently below averages, culminating in some frost warnings earlier this month. Several towns in Northern Minnesota recently had record lows in the mid-20s, well below freezing. The cold snap has also hurt some of the state's crops, including corn.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
