2011 rainfall hurt park attendance

Ohio among few states with free park system.

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By Cornelius Frolik, Staff Writer 7:18 PM Monday, January 16, 2012

Record-setting rainfall last year contributed to declining attendance at local and state parks in the Miami Valley, but tourism officials expect the fragile economy this year will again lure sizable crowds to parks and other free attractions.

Five Rivers MetroParks welcomed about 2.4 million visitors in 2011, about 300,000 fewer than the previous year. But the parks are weather-dependent and last year was full of inclement weather.

“Our days of highest and lowest park traffic correlate directly with weather extremes,” said Val Hunt Beerbower, spokeswoman with MetroParks. “So during 2011, with its ice storms, record-breaking deluges and scorching heat, (weather) certainly impacted park attendance.”

Ohio last year had 32 record rainfalls and seven heat-related records, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group.

In Dayton, about 194 days last year had some precipitation and 152 days had measurable rainfall, according to the National Weather Service.

Last year, Hueston Woods State Park in Preble County saw its attendance fall to about 2.43 million visitors, down from 2.72 million the previous year, said Hueston Woods region manager Mark Lockhart, citing preliminary data.

Sycamore State Park in Montgomery County welcomed about 242,877 visitors last year, down about 31,900 from 2010, Lockhart said.

But Lockhart said attendance was not bad considering the frequent downpours and soggy days.

“Out of the 74 weekend days or holiday-weekend combinations, it rained 40 of those days,” he said. “It rained 200 and some days out of 365 days last year, and that really does affect us with everything we do.”

Not all parks last year, however, reported declines in visitors.

Two of four free sites at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park saw large increases in attendance in fiscal year 2011, said Dean Alexander, superintendent of the park.

The Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center, which is indoors, welcomed 21,902 visitors, up 18.4 percent from fiscal year 2010, Alexander said.

Huffman Prairie Flying Field on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base had 3,116 visitors last fiscal year, an increase of 184 percent.

Attendance for various, free special events around the national parks skyrocketed to about 169,697 people, according to the park.

“I think we are a beneficiary of the ‘staycation’ phenomenon over the last couple of years,” Alexander said. “The price of traveling to someplace more distant and having the time to take off has been a problem for people.”

Parks are a vital part of tourism, and in 2010, visitors to Ohio’s 75 state parks pumped about $1.1 billion into the economy, said Jim Henahan, spokesman for Ohio State Parks.

Ohio is one of only a handful of states that have a free state park system, and Henahan said that makes its parks attractive to travelers across the state and country.

“We think it’s beneficial because it means that are parks are available to people of any income level, particularly during a time of economic stress,” he said.

“We provide a place that people can come for free and picnic and swim at the beach, and whatever they care to do.”

Anecdotal evidence suggests that tourism in Ohio continued to rebound in 2011 after overall sales increased by about 7 percent in 2010, said Amir Eylon, the state tourism director.

After the recession hit, tourism sales in the state fell to $36 billion from $39 billion, he said. But in 2010, the state recouped about 70 percent of the losses that occurred, and tourism sales climbed back up to $38 billion.

Consumers are traveling more, and Eylon said Ohio will benefit this year from weekend getaways and regional leisure travel. Travelers often cobble together a variety of activities for weekend trips, and they often take advantage of free entertainment.

“Value-added attractions, those that have low to free price points of admission, or those where there is a high perception of getting big bang for your buck tend to draw well,” he said.

“We are still seeing very value-conscious consumers.”

High gas prices and the state of the economy directly impact park visits, but the same goes for other free attractions.

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in 2010 had 1.32 million visitors, the second-highest attendance ever recorded. The museum does not charge admission or for parking.

Attendance declined slightly to about 1.2 million visitors last year, but Jack Hudson, the museum’s director, said it only fell because there was a surge in visitors the previous year linked to the 68th Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Reunion.

Hudson said the 70th Raiders reunion this year is sure to draw large crowds, and he expects the museum’s economic appeal to endure in light of tough times.

“When people are trying to be careful and frugal about what they do, especially more than normal, our museum becomes a more attractive destination,” he said. “We are a bargain.”

In 2009, 67 percent of free museums across the nation reported an increase in attendance, compared to only 55 percent of museums with admission fees, according to the most recent data from the American Association of Museums.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0749 or cfrolik@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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