CONCORD, N.H. — You know the weather is bad when people start keeping track of how many consecutive weekends of rain there’s been.
In New Hampshire, the rainy weekend weather has put a damper on some summer visitation numbers, according to some business leaders in the state, amid what is typically the busiest season for tourism.
While the summer has been off to a slow start, business leaders said they’re anticipating a busy Fourth of July weekend.
“We’re definitely optimistic that we’ll see some strong travel activity this weekend,” said Charyl Reardon, president of White Mountains Attractions Association.
She said the holiday falling on a Friday could encourage more people to come for a long weekend, and she noted that traffic on the interstate was already picking up in the days before the holiday.
Data from Reardon’s organization shows visitation so far this summer season is about 5 percent behind last year, which Reardon attributed to the rainy weekends the state has seen.
Advertisement
She’s not alone in gearing up for a busy weekend ahead.
“July Fourth is especially busy,” said Kathleen Flammia, executive director of the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Compared to years before, the only thing that is really different is that (visitors) are waiting until the last minute to book,” she said. In late June, businesses were worried they’d be down about 10 percent compared to last year, Flammia said, but now the reservations have picked up enough to outpace last year.
Advertisement
Martha “Matty” Leighton, executive director of the Central New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, said people are fed up with the rain, and they’re not letting it keep them inside any longer.
“People are finally, they’ve gotten so irritated, that they’re just like, ‘We’ll go out in the rain. We don’t care,’” said Leighton, who said she has a front row seat to tourism trends since she also works for the Tiki Hut Boats on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Leighton said she’s hearing that lodging is down, but people are still visiting, which suggests more people are coming for day trips.
She said if the typical Fourth of July crowds don’t materialize this year, it could signal a more enduring down trend.
“If we don’t see a busy weekend, that would be kind of a bellwether for us,” she said.
This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Amanda Gokee can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @amanda_gokee.