PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — Sevier County tourism leaders are preparing for an influx of spring break visitors — even as AAA warns high gas prices may convince some families to change their plans.
Tennessee tied its 2008 record-high average price per gallon for gas on Thursday, said Megan Cooper, a AAA spokesperson. If it continues to increase as expected, the state will break its record high on Friday.
But that is not dissuading tourism officials.
"Historically when gas prices have been high, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville continue to have strong visitation, primarily from our feeder markers," said Leon Downey, the Pigeon Forge Director of Tourism.
He said feeder markets like Atlanta, Cincinnati and Louisville — from which the region sees a high proportion of visitors — are all within about one tank of gas from the Smoky Mountains.
"Our visitors will still come," Downey said. "They may choose to shorten the length of their visit here or they may not do everything they wanted to do to compensate for the higher gas prices, but we think they probably will still come."
He also said higher gas prices may lead people to decide to visit Sevier County instead of taking long road trips into other cities or paying for expensive airline tickets.
But for the businesses built to entertain those visitors, soaring gas prices will hurt profits. At Scenic Helicopter Tours, owner Les Center said it's already affecting his bottom line.
"Our last fuel load was about $20,000 of fuel," Center said. "Adding another dollar onto that, we’re looking at $28,000 to possible $30,000 next time I have to fill up."
He said he does not plan to raise prices
"It would be wise to do a fuel surcharge right now, but it’s not our client's issue," he said. "It’s a global thing right now as far as fuel, it’s affecting all of us."
He's hoping the hit to his margins will be offset by higher visitation numbers.
"This can't go on forever," Center said. "We're just going to hunker down."