ST. PAUL - Bad news mounted in recent weeks with stories such as terrorists planning a new attack and gasoline prices topping $2 a gallon.
But that bad news may end up being good news for rural Minnesota's tourism industry. Western Minnesota tourism officials are ready to host vacationers who don't want to buy tanks of gasoline for long trips and want to avoid big cities and the terrorism potential that goes with them.
"The reports we have had from different sources still say that ... we should be able to look for shorter-distance vacations, which we are hopeful will translate into visits to the lakes area," said Tourism Director Cleone Stewart of the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The tourism trend since the 9/11 terrorism attacks has been toward visiting safer areas, she said. That, combined with high gasoline prices, could translate into a tourism boom for rural Minnesota.
On top of that, an informal survey of the state's lodging industry indicates an improved economy makes the Minnesota industry optimistic, said Joan Hummel of the state tourism office.
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"Three out of the four reporting businesses expected their level of business will be the same or better than last year," Hummel said. "That is a more optimistic outlook than last year at the same time."
Many of those responding to the state survey are from rural Minnesota.
The most common travel activity in the state is scenic touring, with 48 percent of travelers saying they have done that. Fishing is virtually tied for second with shopping in tourism activity, with visiting parks the fourth most common. All are heavily rural activities.
The tourism industry is important to Minnesota with nearly 232,000 employees to serve 20.5 million American and 800,000 foreign tourists each year. Twenty-two percent of those tourists visit north-central or western Minnesota.
Tourism officials say they expect those numbers to remain strong, despite high gasoline prices.
"When you think of the relative percentage of what you spend for gas ... we think that is a very small percentage," said Cole Carley, executive director of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Instead of a Minnesota family driving to Yellowstone National Park, it may opt for closer-to-home destinations due to high gasoline prices.
Fargo and Moorhead could host more Midwesterners this summer, Carley said.
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Visitors already lined up to visit the cities include 5,000 participants for a youth wrestling tournament, 2,000 softball players for another tournament and up to 4,000 Shriners for a convention. On top of that, 1,500 people are expected to attend a fireworks convention, with busloads of tourists coming to watch evening fireworks displays.
Bird watching and other nonhunting wildlife activities are becoming popular in the Detroit Lakes area, Stewart said. The area draws Midwesterners to a variety of wildlife and wetlands projects managed by federal, state and local governments.
The area is popular with birders because it is where the tall grass prairie and hardwood and conifer forests meet.
"That is habitat for a lot of different species of birds," Stewart said.
Hummel said rural Minnesota attractions center on fishing - "which is a Minnesota classic" - and scenic byways. The Lake Country Scenic Byway between Detroit Lakes and Walker, for instance, draws a lot of motorists.
Otter Tail County is getting more attention, too, Hummel said.
"What a charming location," she said, adding that Fergus Falls and New York Mills are good arts communities near a concentration of lakes.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Don Davis at (651) 290-0707
