Seasonal kickoff looks promising on Hatteras Island

By Michelle Wagner, Correspondent

Despite steep gas prices and some beach closures on Hatteras Island, local officials predict a busy Memorial Day weekend with sunny skies and warm weather in the forecast.

Hotels and motels are at between 75 and 80 percent of capacity for the holiday weekend, according to Carolyn McCormick, managing director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

“We continue to be optimistic,” she said, adding that a successful Memorial Day weekend is largely dependent on the weather because it draws a lot of day-trippers. “We are feeling good about it. We’ve seen traffic pick up significantly in the last couple of weeks.”

Still, it remains to be seen how gasoline prices and the beach closings meant to protect nesting birds will affect tourism.

Some fishing areas, including Cape Point, have been cut off due to the bird nesting-related beach closures. Some local business owners are concerned about the lost beach access and they say the impact is already showing up in lost sales.

Steve Knowles, an employee with The Fishin’ Hole tackle shop in Salvo, said business has not been the same since the National Park Service announced a number of beach closures on Hatteras beaches this spring to protect nesting shore birds. Knowles said that the impact of the closings goes beyond a decrease in sales of coastal recreational fishing licenses.

“There has been a decrease in everything,” he said. “Every day, they close something else. We have people calling asking what is closed and then telling us they are not coming.”

John Bone, president of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, said business leaders countywide are concerned about the closures.

“It is very disconcerting what is happening and it affects the whole county,” Bone said.

Still, hotels are reporting that their rooms are nearly full for the weekend.

“We are not completely full, but we are just about booked,” said Mary Morgan, who takes reservations at the Lighthouse View motel in Buxton.

Nearly all of the 180 rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk have been booked, according to Samantha Turner, the hotel’s morning supervisor.

“We have a few rooms, but not many. I expect that after walk-ins, there won’t be any left,” she said.

Bone said there has been a lot of activity and an increase in traffic over the past week, which is a good sign for the weekend.

“Of course, we won’t know until it is over, but the weather looks good, and people are already coming early,” he said.

Although gas prices have increased, Bone said, the Outer Banks is a short drive from major population centers.

“And they don’t have to fly here,” he said. McCormick added that the cost of gasoline may encourage people to come for a few days rather than one, and to carpool. “That is what our goal has been,” she said.

McCormick said she was excited Cape Hatteras was ranked eighth Thursday in the annual top 10 beaches list produced by Stephen Leatherman, director of Florida International University’s Laboratory for Coastal Research.

“We are excited to have another beach on the list,” she said, adding that Ocracoke ranked number one last year.

“A large level of credibility goes along with this list and we know it is only going to help us,” she said.