Small businesses at popular vacation destinations such as boardwalks and piers in the U.S. say the number of tourists Crowds on the beaches are back to normal levels, i.e. pre-2020 levels. But while the wealthy spend money freely, lower-income holidaymakers stick to carefully planned budgets.
Sean Bailey, marketing manager of the SkyWheel Ferris wheel at the Boardwalk and Promenade in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said ticket sales for the 13-year-old attraction have surpassed 2019 levels since 2021 and are slightly above 2023 levels so far this year.
Bailey has noticed that tourists who buy the cheaper tickets — the price of which rose from $18 to $21 this year — plan ahead and buy online rather than walk to the 200-foot-tall attraction. A normal ride, or “flight,” on the SkyWheel, whose glass-enclosed gondolas seat up to six, takes 10 to 15 minutes.
At the other end of the spectrum, the more expensive tickets have become more popular. There are sunrise tickets for $35 and VIP tickets for $109 that include up to four people and give the buyer a 30-minute flight. SkyWheel also offers a gender reveal package for $250 that includes a light show and a ride for up to six people.
“People are looking for more immersive experiences that go beyond a regular flight,” Bailey said.
According to the US Travel Association’s forecast, tourism volumes in 2024 are expected to exceed 2019 figures for the first time since the pandemic began, with 2.45 billion trips being made, compared to 2.38 billion in 2023 and 2.40 billion in 2019.
Domestic tourism is recovering faster than international tourism. U.S. domestic travel spending, which includes general travel expenses and passenger fares, is expected to be $975.6 billion in 2024, 98% of 2019 levels. International travel spending of $153.9 billion is about 83% of 2019 levels. Both expenditures are adjusted for inflation, according to the USTA.
Similar to the CEOs of large, consumer-focused companiesSmall business owners say they see a spending gap between wealthy Americanswho have maintained their spending levels and those in the lower income brackets who are more cautious. Wall Street has seen double-digit gains last year and so far this year – despite recent volatility – Meanwhile, wage growth has slowed and inflation remains a burden, even as price pressures on consumers have eased.
At Navy Pier, which juts out into Chicago’s Lake Michigan, Robin Harris, owner of Confidence Apparel, which sells clothing with affirmations, says foot traffic and sales are up this year compared to last. She says customers are more conscious of their spending, choosing things they can wear more than once and choosing quality over quantity. Her best sellers are a $30 T-shirt in a variety of colors that reads “Breathe in confidence, breathe out doubt” and a $75 jacket with a recipe-like list of ingredients, including “love, kindness, courage and resilience.”
“(Customers) are starting to think a little more consciously about what they’re buying instead of just buying anything and everything,” she said.
Elsewhere on Navy Pier, Robert Gomez owns Beat Kitchen Cantina, a Mexican food stand, and Bar Sol, a full-service restaurant with a patio. He says sales at the food stand are up 30% from last year, and customers are willing to spend $8 on a taco, $1 more than last year. Gomez has expanded his more upscale restaurant, Bar Sol, and made other improvements, so sales are not comparable.
Gomez also owns two places that offer live music and food away from the tourist areas. He says that while tourists on the pier are happy to pay $40 for an entree at Bar Sol, they don’t spend as much at neighborhood restaurants that attract mostly Chicagoans.
“Tourists come (to Bar Sol) expecting to overspend, while a local customer is looking for better deals,” he said. “They are much more price conscious, it’s almost the other extreme. And so for me it was a problem compared to the neighborhood stores.”
At Laura’s Fudge in Wildwood, New Jersey, which has been around since the 1920s, owner Dave Roach said sales of fudge, saltwater taffy and chocolate-covered turtles have increased every year since 2020. He said many customers, often families who have been going to the boardwalk for generations, save up throughout the year to have money to spend in Wildwood.
“They know what it’s going to cost them and they don’t mind spending the money,” he said.
Michelle Rutkowski, owner of Boardwalk Best and Five Mile Marketplace on the Wildwood, New Jersey, boardwalk, which sells beach items and souvenirs, has seen business boom and bust over the decades as her family has operated there since the 1980s.
In April and May, rainy weekends slowed down business. But since then things have been picking up again, especially after school ended in mid-June.
Rutkowski said she was optimistic about sales momentum this year, with shoppers spending big on souvenirs such as keychains and magnets, as well as T-shirts featuring Wildwood, New Jersey’s unofficial mascot, a seagull with a French fry in its mouth.
“People have budgeted appropriately for the holidays and are spending,” she said. “Maybe this isn’t the year we get back to 100% of what we were originally, but we’re definitely on that path.”