Continuing to absorb the financial aftershock of the Sept. 11 attacks, the tourism industry in Hudson County has lost $30 million, officials say.
As Hudson County’s greatest source of revenue, the $1.3 billion industry suffered a severe setback throughout September and October. Since then, hotels, cruises, and tourist attractions have softened the blow by reshuffling their marketing plans with a heavier appeal toward domestic travelers, as overseas travel has practically come to a standstill.
"There’s been a lot of layoffs and cutbacks," said William LaRosa, director of Hudson County’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Tourism, last week. He said that while the restaurant industry has received a steady flow of business, hotels, transportation outlets, and tourist venues have fell prey to fears, coupled with an economic downturn.
Hotels, the tourism industry’s best market indicator, have witnessed a significant drop-off in all three areas compared to this time last year, LaRosa said. He attributed most of the losses to tour group cancellations, especially from abroad.
Because of Hudson County’s proximity to New York City and its lower rates, many international tour groups choose it for hotel accommodations. But the fear that spread in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks has continued to impede foreign travel, thereby deepening the wound in the hotel industry.
Where hotels normally see an 80 percent occupancy rate in the area, they are currently receiving a 45 percent occupancy rate, LaRosa said. The damage stretches into next year as well. He cited lost revenue due to cancellations in 2002.
"Occupancy is probably going to remain flat for next year," said Abe Rothenberg, director of sales and marketing for the Crown Plaza Hotel. Normally, the 305-room hotel in Secaucus receives a large portion of business from business travelers. Business travel, however, has been scaled back since the attacks and the subsequent economic downturn that followed. Holiday parties, another source of revenue for the hotels, have been canceled for major corporations, according to Rothenberg.
While hotels in the Hudson County area are working with the Gateway Tourism Council, a consortium of tourism-related businesses, to market new packages that would spur occupancy, Rothenberg said the immediate focus is concentrating on the business that does exist. "Everyone is trying to keep what business they have and try to get whatever business is in the area," Rothenberg said. "We lowered our rates across the board."
The Palace Hotel in North Bergen, which generally markets to student groups overseas, has seen an estimated 40 percent drop in occupancy compared to last year, according to Marty Korngut, director of sales and operations. "What surprised me the most were the cancellations coming from Canada," Korngut said. "I think during times of great stress people want to stay where they are familiar."
While Korngut has dropped the hotel’s rates slightly, he does not see that as the ultimate solution. "I don’t think it’s a rate-sensitive issue," Korngut said. "I dropped my rate a little bit and it didn’t really make that much of a difference."
But the hotel has put a rate-freeze in effect for next year, hoping to lure business again with expectations of an economic recovery. As business begins to pick up for next year, Korngut is optimistic that things will turn around.
"It’s unreasonable to think that the people are going to stay away forever," he said, commenting on the general curiosity to see New York since the attacks. "A lot of people want to see New York. Tragedy plus time equals tourist attraction."
However, Korngut said many travelers are discouraged to come to visit because of the city’s biggest attractions – the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island – have been closed since Sept. 11 and occupied by federal law enforcement agencies. Companies such as New York Waterway have tried to fill this gap by aggressively marketing its tours around the New York harbor.
The ferry service’s tourism department has found a healthy market of domestic travelers interested in seeing the Statute of Liberty, even if it’s only a close-up view from a boat. Immediately following the attacks, the company had stopped the cruise tour, according to Maritza Scher, director of travel and tourism sales. "When we went back it was okay," Scher said. "People were looking for different ways to be on the water and see everything."
Moment of silence
One of the things New York Waterway lets tourists see is south Manhattan, the site of the attacks. "When we get around the area of Ground Zero, we do a moment of silence," Scher said, adding that a tour guide discusses what happened on Sept. 11. "The Twin Towers were a very big part of New York City and we can’t forget that they were there."
Other waterway cruises have not been as fortunate as New York Waterway. Horizon Cruises, which operates a 600-passenger luxury dinner cruise ship that departs from Weehawken, has been operating at 50 percent of what it normally does during the holiday season.
"We’ve just seen a tremendous decrease in the demand," said Larry Moran, director of sales. "The majority of our business had been corporate. Since that time [Sept. 11], we’ve seen a tremendous postponement of events until next year."
Most of the corporate clientele involves dinner cruise parties around the Hudson River. However, the shock of recent events has left many corporations wary of throwing a celebration. Weddings, Horizon Cruise’s other major source of business, continue to take place.
Under normal circumstances, the company employs 125 people during the holiday season. But due to the lack of business, it can only support half that amount this year. "The good news is that the advance bookings for next year look very strong," Moran added.
The consensus on water is similar to that on land. The bus company Academy has also seen a drop in overseas group travel, causing it to market its charter buses toward domestic groups. "The amount of people coming into the city from overseas has dropped dramatically," said John Kiely, director of sales. "We’re trying to focus our efforts on domestic senior groups."
Rather than take tours of New York City, the groups that Academy caters to often travel outside the metropolitan area to places like Atlantic City, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Kiely said the initial drop-off of business soon rebounded because the company does not depend on foreign travelers as much as other businesses do. "Most of the groups that we see all year round have stayed," Keily said. "We’re holding our own."
While many companies have seen a shining light in domestic tourists, others have encountered unforseen problems with even this dependable resource. On a routine day, Liberty Science Center entertains 2,000 children on school field trips throughout the region. However, some schools placed a ban on field trips immediately following the attacks, causing business to dip 30 percent from last year.
"We’ve been pushing to make those groups feel more secure for 2002," said Dina Schipper, director of communications.
To compensate for the loss of school groups, the center has made an effort to attract more families. During the Thanksgiving weekend, it sponsored a program that paid tribute to firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians. Representatives from each of these emergency services educated and entertained families by giving demonstrations. According to Schipper, an aggressive marketing campaign that included an advertisement in a Food Town coupon circular made the event a success. "The timing was right," Schipper said.