SPEARFISH — As the Northern Hills is in the middle of tourist season, area businesses are typically at their busiest time of the year.
That is true too at the Spearfish Recreation Center and the Spearfish City Campground, but this is markedly slower than the past two years.
Tyler Ehnes, parks and recreation director for the city, told city council members Tuesday that both entities are seeing “substantially” fewer visitors than the past two years.
“The campground is down about 20%. The rec center, I don’t have a percentage yet. As of (Monday) the Fourth of July, we actually sent lifeguards and front desk (staff) home,” Ehnes told council members. “If that is indicative of our tourist season, we’re going to be really down on tourists. We’ve been slow all summer.”
He said that from what staff can tell, it is mainly locals who are using the rec center and water park.
On Thursday, with temperatures in the 80s, typically the pools would be packed with visitors escaping the heat; however, there was plenty of room in each of the pools.
Ehnes addressed the city campground.
“I have the campground staff ask, when we get a cancelation … and (the people who call to cancel) say ‘gas prices,’” he said. “Gas prices prevent them from coming. They don’t have a lot of discretionary spending.”
Ehnes said that despite being down from 2020 and 2021, compared to 2018 and 2019, visitation at both places was up “quite a bit from those years.”
Steve McFarland, city administrator, said sales tax revenue through the end of April, was up 8%. Why campground and rec center attendance is significantly down from 2021, yet sales tax is up, McFarland said he does not know at this time.
Mistie Caldwell, executive director of Visit Spearfish, said hospitality tax is up 18% through May.
“Hotel occupancy up 1.8%,” Caldwell said. “That’s not based on revenue; That’s based on actual rooms rented.”
She also said that through June, the number of people going into the organization’s visitor center, is up 5%.
However, those numbers have declined “substantially” in July.
Caldwell said that she just returned from a South Dakota Tourism Advisory Council meeting and many communities were reporting double-digit decreases in visitors.
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