Cancellations don’t dampen optimism

To say it is a trying time for people in the tourism industry — the lifeblood of the Black Hills — would be an understatement.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cancellations are piling up. H-2B and J-1 foreign workers are stuck in their home countries. Stay- at-home orders are still in place in many states, social distancing is still required in many other places and many people are fearful to go anywhere. 

When your income is dependent on those people, that’s not a good thing.

Dolsee Davenport, executive director for the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce,  said the chamber has heard from hotels across the region and state that there has been a bevy of cancellations, but they remain hopeful as the calendar turns to May.

“We understand this is a trying time for many of our Custer businesses and we have been impressed with how they’ve adapted to changes taking place,” she said. “What we’ve heard from the South Dakota Department of Tourism is people are feeling optimistic and want to take a vacation. The end of summer and fall are looking like popular times to travel.”

At Custer State Park, visitor services program manager Kobee Stalder said a portion of camping reservations from visitors outside the state who are farther away than a day’s drive were cancelled for May and early June.

At Fort Welikit, owner Kelly Saint said there have been more cancellations than usual, but the biggest change has been the lack of reservations being made.

“I think everyone is waiting to see what will happen with travel restrictions and state orders,” she said. “We have just opened, so we are at normal for the first few days, but we have less scheduled to come into the park the first few weeks of May than usual.”

French Creek RV Park manager Diane Olson said just over 3 percent of her reservations have been cancelled, and as late as the end of last week calls for reservations were virtually nonexistent. However, over the weekend, Olson said the phones “kind of broke loose” with callers looking for a place to stay for the summer because it’s getting too hot in the southern part of the country and that “after searching the internet they see that Custer County, S.D., has no cases of the virus.”

At Mount Rushmore National Memorial, chief of interpretation and education Maureen McGee-Ballinger said March visitation was down 19 percent and as of March 31 visitation statistics show a decline of just under 1 percent compared to January through March last year. April numbers are not available yet, she said. 

It was March 20 when all Xanterra Travel Collection’s operations were closed at the memorial, which included Carvers’ Cafe and the gift shop. The parking facility, operated by Xanterra, changed to a no-fee status and the same day the Mount Rushmore Information Center and Mount Rushmore Society Bookstore closed due to the need to follow social distancing guidelines, although the grounds remain open.

Leah Scott, president of Custer Business Improve-ment District (BID) Board, said assigning a number to cancellations is difficult, but said cancellations nearing 3,000 room nights is “probably on the lower end of the scale” of what’s been lost thus far across the community, and equally concerning is the lack of new reservations for May and the first half of June.

“It’s been difficult to watch what was gearing up to be a great summer season to doing our best to stay optimistic that any of us will pull out of this with somewhat of a season left,” she said. “We are seeing some gains in July, August and even September, so we remain optimistic people will be ready to travel and we will be through the worst of what this pandemic holds for Custer.”

Scott, who is also chief operating officer for Custer Hospitality, said Custer Hospitality will at best receive five of what was to be 40 H-2B employees, which allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs. Other BID properties were set to use the J-1 program, but that, too, has been shut down. The J-1 program is for individuals approved to participate in work- and study-based exchange visitor programs.

“When Custer Hospitality is able to open, it will be very difficult to operate without these workers,” Scott said. “We are listing open positions hoping we are able to obtain some local help.”

Davenport said, while sales tax was up slightly for January and February, March and April will be down significantly. The chamber had to pull the plug on next month’s “Sounds of Silence” Tesla Rally and the June Off-Road Rally. 

She said both the July 4 festivities and Gold Discovery Days are still set to take place, but that could change.

“If the data shows it’s not safe to have events in July, then we will make that decision,” she said. 

Stalder said he hopes people who live close to Custer State Park will fill the camping spots, etc., being abandoned by the cancellations. Park visitation has remained steady, he said, with an increase in day use from local visitors and surrounding Black Hills communities.

“People need some normalcy in their lives during these unprecedented times and I think state parks are providing that,” he said. “We are about everyone’s mental health and well being and what better way to reset than with nature?”

The park has allowed a grace period for park passes to provide an outlet for local communities, but Stalder said the park would like to see those who come to the park follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines while there.

“If one of our trailheads is crowded, pick another one,” he said. “If you’re hiking and see other people coming down the trail at you, make your presence known or move six feet off the trail and let them pass.”

Stalder said the Coolidge Store will open May 1, as will park campgrounds with the exception of Center Lake and Sylvan, which will open for Memorial Day weekend.  The campgrounds won’t have the comfort stations/shower houses open, however.

“In our area we’re lucky to have the wide-open spaces where it’s easy to enjoy the scenery while also following social distance guidelines,” Davenport said.

Despite the early-season negativity, hope springs eternal and many in the industry are banking on the combination of low gas prices and pent-up demand to get out and about to open the flood gates to make the middle, end and even shoulder season strong.

“There is the hope that people will want to get out in nature after being locked up for so long,” Saint said. “The summer can be saved if we are able to open up tourism, even in a modified manner, by June, so there is time for businesses to make money in a seasonal dynamic.”

“I’m just taking one day at a time. I don’t think that far ahead,” Olson said.

Stalder echoed Olson’s remarks, saying there are many factors that could play into how the summer goes, so it’s tough to speculate about anything.

“We’ve seen a lot of visitors rescheduling for later in the year in hopes they can still come, but others have stated they won’t travel until next summer,” he said. “The season will definitely be different than anything we’ve ever experienced. I can say that.”

“We are always hoping for the best and numbers show the shoulder season to be holding well,” Scott said. “I believe people will be more than ready to travel when they feel the risk of doing so has subsided.”

Davenport said the most popular questions the chamber is seeing from potential visitors are in regards to what is open and their thoughts on if things will be open later in the season (for instance, people who have plans to be here in August). Visitors are saying they still plan to come, even if it’s later in the year.

“In these unconventional times, we all need to stay flexible, be considerate of others and have a positive outlook,” she said. “We are hoping for a safe yet successful season in which everyone is making fact-based decisions.”

“All any of us can do is take things one day at a time and continue to hope for the best and do what we can to prepare to present our best foot forward so when the green light comes we are better than ever,” Scott said. “We are fortunate to live in a community where we continue to hold each other up and do what’s best for our neighbors.”