Summer Winds Down; Autumn Gears Up in White Mountains

While Labor Day is not traditionally one of New Hampshire's busiest holidays, it does provide a weekend when many decide to pack in one more blast of travel before the season ends.

"Sept. 1 is the earliest date Labor Day can fall and while it is not a huge travel day, it can be if the weather looks good," says Jayne O'Connor, president of White Mountains Attractions, the official regional marketing agency. "We'll also see people come out and try to get one last bit of summer fun."

Labor Day marks a transition into the fall foliage season. As school begins, some attractions, like Six Gun City in Jefferson and the Whale's Tale in Lincoln, close down for the year, while others like Santa's Village and the Conway Scenic Railroad continue daily or weekend operations from Labor Day to mid-October.

"There is still a pent-up need that people have to get away," O'Connor says. "We expect them to continue coming out strong for as long as there is great weather."

Taking stock of the unusual summer, which saw high gas prices, rainy days and a state tourism promotion inviting Granite Staters to explore their backyard, O'Connor says that all in all, her member attractions had a good season.
She says, "August 2007 was a fabulous month and this August was pretty much level with that, so in spite of the challenges over the past several months, to just be even with last year is encouraging."

O'Connor predicts the strong summer will continue through the fall foliage season, when the White Mountains become a destination for travelers from all over the world.

The number of bus tours scheduled to pass through the White Mountains Visitors' Center in North Woodstock, headquarters for White Mountains Attractions, is "way up this year," according to O'Connor as motorcoach tours are seen as a practical way to travel.

In addition to the Canadian market, which has been surging over the past several years because of the favorable exchange rate, international travel also remains strong.

"Our visitors from France have been up for the second year in a row, as has the number of people coming down from Quebec," she says. "Great Britain and Germany continue to hold the number one and two spots for the number of people coming here from those countries, but we've been seeing a dramatic rise in the number of people coming here from the Netherlands."

White Mountains Attractions, founded in 1958, is also the marketing association for 16 attractions within the White Mountains region, including Attitash, Cannon Mountain, Clark's Trading Post, the Cog Railroad, the Conway Scenic Railroad, Flume Gorge, the Hobo Railroad, Loon Mountain, Lost River Gorge, Mount Washington Auto Road, Polar Caves, Santa's Village, Six Gun City, Story Land, Whale's Tale and Wildcat Mountain.

For information about the White Mountains, the visitors' center is located off exit 32 on Interstate 93 in North Woodstock; visit www.visitwhitemountains.com or call 800-FIND-MTS.