Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, April 16, 1994 TAG: 9404180164
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLESTON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
``Our reservations department is going like gangbusters. People are definitely signing up earlier,'' said Kathy Fletcher of the Wild Dunes resort just north of Charleston.
``The colder the winter, the sooner people start thinking about summer,'' agreed David Love of the American Association of Travel Agents in Washington, D.C. He said resorts up and down the East Coast are filling rapidly.
In Myrtle Beach, where an estimated 10.2 million tourists poured $2.3 billion into the local economy last summer, the summer of '94 promises to be the best ever, said Ashby Ward, executive director of the local chamber of commerce.
Last week, the chamber received a record 2,060 reservation inquiries on a single day, he said.
``We've already surpassed last year at this time. We're on our way to the best summer we have ever had,'' he said.
In Ocean City, Md., which is a lot closer to the snow, slush and salt, reservations started pouring in back in January, said Barbara Kelly, a receptionist at Caine Realty.
``People were calling saying `We're looking to get out [of the cold]''' she said. ``Our prime weeks in July and August are almost booked and the good units have already gone.''
``We've been very busy the last few weeks with the phones and contracts,'' said Suzanne Engel, who works in a cottage rental office at Sea Island, Ga. ``It's started earlier than last year.''
``The calls did come in earlier. People were cold and thinking about getting away,'' said Angie Brady-Daniels, a spokeswoman for the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce in North Carolina. ``But we do have availability in early June and late August and can help a caller hoping to find a place.''
At Wild Dunes, the spring season has been slower than last year.
That may be because Northern schools were making up snow days and people didn't have as much time off, said Fletcher, who handles advertising for Wild Dunes.
The U.S. Travel Data Center, which conducts a quarterly telephone survey, found 58 percent of the respondents very likely to travel on vacation this year compared with 49 percent last spring.
``The better vacation deals are being picked up more quickly,'' Fletcher said. ``You can only offer so many and when they're gone, they're gone.''
Love, whose association represents 12,000 travel agents nationwide, said it's expected to be the best summer in four years for the industry.
Much of it is from a stronger economy and demand catching up with the number of hotel and rental units, he said.
But the winter of '94 has also played its part.
``It's been pretty cold and people are making sure they have someplace warm to go this summer,'' he said.
by CNB