FORKS — Riding on the Twilight Saga wave, Forks had more than 70,000 visitors last year — and Clallam County overall has seen an increase in lodging tax receipts over 2008, even with those of the final month of 2009 uncounted.

More than 70,000 people checked in at the Forks Visitor Center in 2009, said Marcia Bingham, executive director of the Forks Chamber of Commerce, who didn’t have an exact tally by year’s end.

In 2008, that number was 18,485.

“The thing is, that is only the number of people who came to the visitor center,” Bingham said.

“We know that it was many, many more than that [who visited Forks] — especially as more information is available online and fans can find information that way.”

Forks’ lodging tax receipts — money made through taxes on motels and motels, one method of gauging the effect of tourism on an area — were $125,519 for 11 months of 2009, with December’s not yet counted.

That’s $8,886 more than the same time period in 2008, and with a month of reporting left to be totaled, about $2,000 more than all of last year combined.

Tax receipts through November 2009 for Clallam County were $10,893 more than last year, with $353,450 collected.

Port Townsend’s receipts also were slightly up, with $296,051 collected versus $295,378 for the same period in 2008.

Twilight growth

Diane Schostak, director of the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau, attributed the growth to Twilight.

“I think that if it wasn’t for Twilight, we would be like the rest of the world — which is down 15 to 30 percent worldwide,” she said.

The Twilight series of four novels by Stephenie Meyer tells the fictional story of a Forks High School student, Bella Swan, who has vampire Edward Cullen and werewolf Jacob Black vying for her heart.

Movies based on the first two books — Twilight and New Moon — have been released. The movie based on the third book, Eclipse, is to be released June 30.

Although none have been filmed in Forks — or anywhere on the North Olympic Peninsula — visitors have flocked to the real-life setting of the fictional tale.

“Because of the attention that has come to our area through Twilight, we are holding our own,” Schostak said. “And it is all about vampires and werewolves — and their fans.”

Most other areas of the North Olympic Peninsula saw a decline in lodging tax receipts in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

Port Angeles had $437,348 versus $478,350 in 2008, Sequim is at $141,323 versus $161,222 in 2008, and Jefferson County is at $315,634 versus $324,707 in 2008.

Bingham said she expects Forks visitor numbers to drop soon, saying she is taking pointers from Bruce Paul who owns and operates Forks Outfitters.

“He knows how the tourism seems to work and hasn’t been wrong yet,” she said.

From two weeks before Christmas through the week after, some 200 to 250 visitors were coming back daily.

“We are back up to early summer numbers,” Bingham said.

“But Bruce tells me that traditionally the numbers drop off at the beginning of the year.

“So we are expecting that [this] week they will start to drop off as kids go back to school.”

A trend

However, both Schostak and Bingham predict the trend of overall increased tourism, sparked by the vampire novels, will stretch through the next several years.

“I dare say it will continue,” Schostak said.

“Here we are in the dead of winter with Christmas going by, and I live in Forks and drive to Port Angeles most days for work, and even with our dark days, the fans are there taking pictures in front of the Forks welcome sign,” Schostak said.

She noted that the movie rights haven’t yet been negotiated for the fourth book in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn.

“We don’t know where it will be filmed, or if it will be released as two movies,” Schostak said.

“There is a lot of anticipation for the fans as the climax of the series and by far the one with the most excitement.”

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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.