Post by Admin on Jun 4, 2020 9:19:17 GMT -7
Gardiner tourism struggles as Yellowstone National Park opens
The Livingston Enterprise reports:
"There’s far more elk than tourists in the Gardiner area.
Yellowstone National Park, which typically sees more than 3 million people, primarily in the summer months, is, “super dead” according to Francesca Monte, the owner of Outwest T’s & Apparel.
Her sales are down 97% from this time last year.
Her computer software sent her a daily notice until she turned off the notification.
“My store is usually packed,” she said of traffic on an early June day before the coronavirus outbreak brought the tourism economy to a screeching halt.
“I’ve canceled all my orders,” she said of resupplying inventory.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” she said.
Monte has owned the store, which opened 30 years ago, for the past 11 years.
“Vacation rentals lost 80 % of their business. In May there were zero guests,” she said.
As for international tourists, “They’re not coming back anytime soon,” she said.
She’s hoping to generate at least 25% of her sales this year.
Presently, if you visit Yellowstone, “You have the park to yourself,” she said."
Read the full story here.
"There’s far more elk than tourists in the Gardiner area.
Yellowstone National Park, which typically sees more than 3 million people, primarily in the summer months, is, “super dead” according to Francesca Monte, the owner of Outwest T’s & Apparel.
Her sales are down 97% from this time last year.
Her computer software sent her a daily notice until she turned off the notification.
“My store is usually packed,” she said of traffic on an early June day before the coronavirus outbreak brought the tourism economy to a screeching halt.
“I’ve canceled all my orders,” she said of resupplying inventory.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” she said.
Monte has owned the store, which opened 30 years ago, for the past 11 years.
“Vacation rentals lost 80 % of their business. In May there were zero guests,” she said.
As for international tourists, “They’re not coming back anytime soon,” she said.
She’s hoping to generate at least 25% of her sales this year.
Presently, if you visit Yellowstone, “You have the park to yourself,” she said."
Read the full story here.