Fears of high gas prices evaporating for Amana merchants

MAIN AMANA- As with a lot of tourist destinations, the Memorial Day weekend is always a big deal for merchants in the Amana Colonies. But after months of worrying about the summer driving season merchants there say they've got a better outlook about the coming vacation season.

That's because all the predictions about high gas prices have changed for the better.

Merchants feared all the talk about $4.00 a gallon gas nationwide would keep some people close to home and prevent them from traveling. But gas is dropping, especially in the Midwest, and the number of people going to the Amanas so far this year is going up.

Sarah Tarnowski, director of the Amana Colonies Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the Visitor Center has recorded an increase of 30% in foot traffic compared to the same time period last year. March, usually one of the slower months, saw many more visitors due to the unseasonably warm weather.

Tarnowski said add in falling fuel prices and you have a good explanation of why merchants in the colonies feel a lot better about the travel season this year.

“There's almost a collective sigh of relief to see gas prices going down. When the media was saying how high gas prices could go, there was a definite concern,” Tarnowski said.

Tarnowski said tourism leaders actually started advertising a little more closer to home this year to try and entice those planning “staycations” instead of summer road trips. But they're finding visitors from farther away in the Midwest are still showing up in the usual numbers.

Jack Bolt and his wife Madelyn from Michigan pulled up to the Amana Visitors Center mid-morning Friday. The Bolts were attending another event in Iowa and dropped in after seeing the sign to the Amanas from I-80. Bolt said gas isn't as cheap up in Michigan right now. But Iowa prices of 60 or 70 cents a gallon lower than home encouraged him to do more traveling while he's here.

“You can get here on one tank of gas from Michigan and once you're here, you can go all over Iowa for a lot less,” Bolt said.

In addition to a larger, earlier crowd, Amana shop owners are also seeing more visitors willing to spend more. Janice Rawson, owner of several shops in Main Amana, said she's on track for a sales record so far. And to her, it makes perfect sense. If visitors don't spend as much on gas, then they have more to spend on something else.

“You have your foot traffic and store sales and when you put things together, you recognize it's a good, strong year. And I don't think it's going to go backwards,” Rawson said.

Tourism officials estimate the Amana Colonies draw about 850,000 visitors a year. It's usually considered one of the state's top attractions.

Convention and Visitors workers will be out over the Memorial Day weekend counting license plates to see how they are doing at drawing travelers from out of state.