Business: In warmer climes, some think terrorist fears may keep snowbirds away
By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (September 23, 2001 3:33 p.m. EDT) - For business owners along a stretch of South Florida beach lined with motels and souvenir stores, winter can't come too soon.
Every year from October to Easter, thousands of people - mostly retirees from Canada, the Northeast and Midwest - set up winter homes, providing a much-anticipated boost to the Florida economy. But those whose livelihood depends on this yearly influx of snowbirds worry they'll stay home because of anxiety over terrorism and the uncertainty of war.
Already, business owners have had cancellations.
Jackie Lessard, a tour operator, lost $4,500 after 15 two-person reservations for cruises were canceled.
"My phone doesn't ring. It has never been slow like this in my life," Lessard said. Her 12-year-old business off Hollywood Beach's Broadwalk arranges bus tours of South Florida and Caribbean cruise vacations. Seasonal employees from Canada have, for now, refused to join her in the United States.
"The way it looks now, it's kind of scary," said Paul Dragomir, manager of The Longshore Motel on Hollywood Beach. "Everybody is kind of afraid. They're thinking twice now."
While Dragomir hasn't had any cancellations from his mostly French Canadian customers, he has only booked one reservation since Sept. 11.
About half a million snowbirds come to Florida from Canada alone each year, according to the Canadian Consulate's Miami office.
Barbara Moss, spokeswoman for the Canadian Snowbird Association in Toronto, Ontario, said the roughly 100,000 members of her organization have expressed concern over being able to enter the United States in light of heightened border security, but most are still planning to come.
"They're not going to let this scare them," Moss said.
Jack Mann, 67, and his wife, both retirees from London, Ontario, have not changed their plans.
"I know we'll be down there Dec. 1 until the end of March," Mann said. "We feel very much a part of the North American continent, so their problems are to some extent our problems."
Robby Cunningham, a spokesman for Visit Florida, the state's official tourism marketing agency, said it's too early to tell whether there will be a significant drop in visitors this winter.
Cunningham said snowbirds often drive to Florida, and would be less affected by the fear of air travel.
Last year, 32.6 million visitors arrived by means other than air travel, including 719,000 Canadians, Cunningham said. He could not provide specific numbers for snowbirds.
In Arizona, another popular snowbird destination, some say it's still too early to tell how business has been affected.
"We are going to remain hopeful that our winter visitors will continue to come," said Bonnie Barsness, president of the Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau.
Judy Wolf, manager of Cherokee Mobile Village in Mesa, a mobile home and RV park that gets a quarter of its business from winter visitors, expects fewer snowbirds this year.
"I've already had four people call and say they aren't coming because they aren't going to get on a plane," Wolf said. "The older we get, the less likely we are to take chances." |
