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Concerns don't slow seasonal visitors
By ALICIA CALDWELL, Times Staff Writer
Loyd Young, a retired farmer who spends winters in Largo, found Friday to be a fine day for hanging out in Seminole City Park listening to a volunteer jam of what could be loosely described as country-western music. Despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and attendant fear of travel, the flagging Canadian dollar and iffy U.S. economic forecast, indications are the snowbirds have come to the Tampa Bay area in typical numbers, or somewhere near them. "When you get to be my age, you don't worry about much," said Young, 65, of Amanda, Ohio, in explaining why he came down this year. "If it's going to happen, it's going to happen." Population experts at the University of Florida say the state usually has more than a million seasonal visitors on the average January day, but they caution that exact snowbird counts are difficult to come by. However, businesses that cater to visitors think the season is strong, though some quarters may be off slightly. "We're really not seeing a dropoff, not at all," said Rick Janka, a Florida Power spokesman. "It's an increase." Florida Power, which supplies electricity to 35 counties including Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus and a small part of Hillsborough, has seen its residential customer count go up for the past four months compared with the same period a year earlier. Nowhere was that reality as clear as at Rivard Golf and Country Club in Brooksville last week. The place was hopping, with more than 150 tee times a day. On Wednesday, a casually arranged league of snowbird golfers was out in force. Many of them have been visiting Florida's west coast for years and didn't see any reason to change their ways. "I wanted to come regardless of the economy or what happened in September," said Les Haggard, 67, of Port Richey, who spends summers in Cincinnati, Ohio. The economy, said the retired field technician for National Cash Register Co., may be a bigger factor next year as retirees feel the pinch of diminished investment income. Haggard said he will closely watch those numbers before making a decision about next winter. "A couple more Enrons and a couple more Kmarts might make a difference," said Haggard, referring to the recent bankruptcies of two major corporations. Difficult finances are the reason many Tampa Bay business proprietors say they are seeing somewhat fewer Canadian visitors. The exchange rate has been worsening for Canadians. In 1997, it took $1.38 in Canadian money to get a U.S. dollar. A year ago, it was up to $1.49 for each U.S. dollar. Last week, Canadians had to shell out $1.60 for each U.S. dollar, according to the Bank of Canada's Web site. "The number of people who have come down this year is down," said Bill Lupo, executive director of Rocky Creek Village Retirement Community in Tampa, which caters to Canadians. Rentals are off about 25 percent at the 785-unit development, Lupo said. The community typically rents to seasonal visitors, many of them Canadians. "My God, they're getting beaten to death by the dollar," said William Young, who along with his wife is a member of Snowbirds of Citrus County, a social group of 130 members, roughly half of them Canadian. "We're figuring we're down about 20, the reason being the Canadian dollar," said Young, who spends summers in Syracuse, N.Y. A more subtle effect, said Canadian Snowbird Association president Bob Jackson, is that visiting Canadians are trimming back a bit. The association has 100,000 members. "I have found that there are some people who previously came down in October who have chosen to come down after Christmas instead," said Jackson, who spends winters in Sun City Center. "Maybe they don't go out to eat quite as much, but they're coming." Jackson said he expects to get a better gauge of Canadian visitors after next week's Snowbird Extravaganza in Lakeland, an event that he said would draw between 80,000 and 100,000 people. Those businesses that do not rely quite as heavily on Canadian business seem not to have noticed any downtick. "Actually, we're really packed," said Ruth Steele, who works in the office of Travelers Rest Resort, a recreational vehicle park in Dade City. "We have a waiting list. It's a good season." This winter, New York's AAA auto clubs have put together a higher than usual number of trip plans for members who want to travel to Florida, said Amy Newton, a spokeswoman for AAA Auto Club South. Florida, she said, also remains a favored destination for people who are traveling by air, Newton said. That's the word, too, from Carole Ketterhagen, executive director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. "I can tell you from personal observation that it looks pretty strong," she said. "The airlines' seats are full coming into this area. We'll just keep our eyes on the economic indicators." Pinellas beach rentals also are doing well, said Realtor Frank Hurley. "Right now, we are just about filled to capacity," he said. Many of Hurley's clients are repeat visitors who book their rentals a year in advance -- as they're leaving the beaches. So, many of the units he manages already were rented when terrorists crashed planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers, and when the economy took a nosedive. Hurley said he was waiting for the phones to begin ringing with cancellations. He said he got only two calls: one from a man whose wife died unexpectedly and another from a man who said the Canadian dollar had dropped so dramatically he no longer could afford the trip. "Actually, I am extremely pleased that we have had no problems at all," Hurley said.
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