PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles will rebound in room tax and sales tax collections this year because the Hood Canal Bridge won’t close long term like it did in 2009, the economy should improve and the Twilight series of books will stay popular, a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce audience was told Monday.
Chamber Executive Director Russ Veenema attributed declines in tourism to the bad economy and the six-week closure of the floating bridge last spring.
A new eastern half was brought in to replace the worn-out original half that opened in 1961.
“The Hood Canal Bridge did impact us, but it could have been a lot worse,” said Veenema, while addressing the chamber’s luncheon at the Port Angeles CrabHouse Restaurant with Diane Shostak, executive director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau.
“I expect a more normal pattern for tourism travel this spring due to the no bridge closures.”
Tax collections down
Sales tax collections were down 15 percent last year and room tax revenue was off 8 percent from 2008.
That translates to a $4.1 million loss in revenue, from $39.8 million in 2008 to $35.7 million in 2009.
“A little dip in occupancy, a little dip in room revenue is a significant number when it comes down to the bottom line,” Veenema said.
Veenema said heightened passport requirements that took effect last June 1 kept some Canadian visitors from ferrying to Port Angeles.
“The passport issue will be behind us, so I expect ferry traffic to level out a bit,” he said.
“That was an issue last year. People were nervous about what they needed for identification on the ferries that went into effect in June.”
Concern over jobs
With a sagging economy, Veenema said public concern over jobs and discretionary income is hard to predict on a month-to-month and year-to-year basis.
“The long weekend vacations have been really the big hit over the past couple of years and certainly this past year,” he said.
“The national economic meltdown seems to have hit bottom.”
Veenema said the 2010 Winter Olympics next month in Vancouver, British Columbia, should bring exposure to the region that will pay dividends in the future.
“I, along with pretty much every body else in the tourism trade in this area, agree that it’s not going to have a significant impact for us in February,” he said.
The two-week Games begin Feb. 12 and will focus on Vancouver and the mountain resort of Whistler, British Columbia, about 75 miles north.
“But the exposure that the Winter Games will have for the Northwest region will have a significant impact for possibly the summer and we’re certain in years to come.”
Veenema said the National Park Service removal of the two Elwha River dams in the coming years will boost sales tax revenue in Port Angeles.
The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are slated to come down beginning in 2011 as part of a $308 million project to restore the Elwha River to its natural state.
“It’s really going to be kicking into gear for 2010,” Veenema said.
“It’s going to get a lot of contractors though here, a lot of press — it’s going to bring a lot of noteworthiness for the area.”
From 2008 to 2009, room tax collections in Port Angeles fell from $507,661 to $468,424.
Sales tax collected in Port Angeles fell from $3.2 million to $2.7 million last year.
“Sales tax reflects what’s happening on a national trend,” Veenema said.
“People are really holding on to their dollars once they’re in town. Even though we did pretty well with people coming to town, they just weren’t spending the money when they were here.
“And obviously sales tax also reflects the purchasing power of the residents in town. So when you combine those two you can see that we have had some issues.”
Room occupancy was down 9 percent.
Visitor increase
Meanwhile, a manual door count at the Port Angeles visitors center on Railroad Avenue showed a 13 percent increase in 2009.
Unofficially, there were 54,754 visitors in 2008 compared with 61,640 last year.
“I really believe that the majority of this is because of Twilight,” said Veenema, referring to Stephenie Meyer’s popular series of Forks-based vampire romance novels and two cinematic adaptations.
“Twilight will continue, I believe, for several years to come. I see a positive hit to us for the books and the movies.”
The recently upgraded chamber Web site, www.portangeles.org, saw a 27 percent increase in visits last year, Veenema told the chamber audience.
There were 541,912 visits in 2008 compared with 685,570 visits in 2009.
Veenema said the chamber’s Web site “continues to be really our handshake out into the world for ‘Please come and visit.'”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.