Sep 3, 2005 By Rebekah Sungala 3 min read

Doreen Tanner said Laurel Caverns hasn’t been as busy as it usually is, and she blames it on the high price of gas. With gas prices hovering near $3 most of the summer, Tanner said she believes many out-of-state people were reluctant to drive a few hundred miles for an hour-long guided tour through Pennsylvania’s longest cave.

“We usually have a lot of people visit from Washington D.C., New York and Ohio, but we didn’t have as many visitors this summer,” she said. “There was a big difference this year compared to other years.”

And with gas prices rising above $3 within the last week, Tanner said she thinks many people will no longer be able to afford to buy gas and rent a hotel room for a few days.

“When people from out of state come they usually rent a hotel room for a couple nights and go to different sites, but if all their money is being spent on gas they won’t be able to afford it,” she said.

Laurel Caverns is not alone. Representatives from other local tourist attractions – Fallingwater, Fort Necessity, Ohiopyle State Park and Friendship Hill National Historic Site – said they too have seen a decrease in the number of tourists, and they all attribute it to gasoline prices.

Vicky Bishop, a worker at Ohiopyle, said not as many people visited the state park this summer, as compared to other summers.

“We’ve been kind of slow,” she said, noting that it seemed as though the hot weather didn’t drive people to the park, renowned for its whitewater boating, as it usually does.

Although Bishop said she doesn’t know for sure, she said she believes gas prices affected attendance.

“That’s what it has to be,” she said.

Nonetheless, Julie Donovan, director of public relations for the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, said she doesn’t believe the price of gasoline will have any long-term effects on local tourist attractions.

“We haven’t had any places call us yet and say they’re really worried,” she said.

And, despite the ever-rising cost of gas, Donovan said the tourism agency, which represents Fayette, Westmoreland and Somerset counties, still plans to hold a Harvest Bed and Breakfast Open House Tour in November, during which the participants will drive their own vehicles to various cottages and inns within the area for tours throughout the day.

“They get directions to the places when they receive their tickets and they drive themselves, there are no buses,” she said. “It’s an all day event.”

She said about 125 people, many of them from the Pittsburgh area, participated in the past and said she expects as many will participate in this tour.

Donovan said she also expects the 84 Lumber Classic to draw people into the area, as well as the various fall festivals that are held during the weeks following Labor Day.

“We’re marketing the events exactly the way we always did regardless of gas prices,” she said. “We think people will attend the wonderful events in our area, and we think there will particularly be good attendance at the festivals. The local community members will support them, and people still seem to be willing to take day trips,” she said.