MOUNT VERNON — After a lean winter, Skagit County restaurants, retailers and hotels are starting to see similar numbers of customers and guests as last year.
Most hotels around the valley are nearly booked up through the end of August, but the biggest change seen by business owners is where their customers are coming from — not so far away.
"Fifty-two percent of our guests staying in the hotels in Anacortes live in Washington," said Mitch Everton, Anacortes Chamber of Commerce president. "Local tourism is what's driving the market. People are doing trips-on-a-tankful."
Anacortes isn't the only town experiencing the influx of Washington locals. Steve Mains, owner of the Longhorn Saloon and Grill in Edison, has kept his business hopping with nightly specials and live music with no cover charge, but he expects to keep getting busier as summer rolls on.
"I have really tried to sharpen my pencil," Mains said. "Keep people coming in and not spending their hard-earned money on a cover charge. Better to buy a cheap beer or a burger instead."
On the other end of the county, Concrete is also looking at the tourist season to boost sales.
After the snow finally cleared and the pass reopened, tourists have been stopping in the chamber's visitors office daily to get information on Baker Lake and the Cascade Loop, said Valerie Stafford, Concrete Chamber of Commerce president.
"The traffic has tripled in the last month," Stafford said. "Thank goodness."
La Conner is another hot spot for valley tourism. Although it is a town of only 785 people, La Conner is the second-most-visited town in the county, next to Mount Vernon.
Even so, Casey Schanen, co-owner of Nell Thorn Restaurant and Pub in La Conner, said that without the support of locals, business would be near impossible.
"The locals are our bedrock," Schanen said. "We definitely rely on them to be the thing that gets us through. Any other tourism is just a bonus."
Schanen said that after a brutal winter, the Tulip Festival turned things around and gave the restaurant its best month ever.
It isn't just restaurants in La Conner that are reaping the benefits of the warmer weather and the Tulip Festival boost. Retail stores like Childhood Bliss are counting on higher numbers, too.
"The first three years we had double-digit increases each year," said Julie Burgmeier, owner of Childhood Bliss. "This year, we are anticipating that our sales will hold steady."
Shelly Davis, co-owner of Queen of the Valley Inn in La Conner, said her business is increasing, as well. Her occupancy rate is up from last May and June, but to keep busy she said she's also been offering more specials and incentives to stay longer.
"It has really helped my rooms stay booked," Davis said.
Davis said with a good value, anyone can survive in any economy. Since Skagit County is a major tourist attraction, especially during the Tulip Festival, people want to come.
"The valley is the antidote to urban life," Davis said. "People need the experience of quaint little towns to see life outside of the busy city."
