SALEM — Fewer people visited Salem attractions in 2009, and they spent less money while they were here — a reflection of the overall economy. But there were unexpected highlights, too.
Some businesses say they were braced for worse and were relieved to find they did better than expected. Others saw surprise successes, like the Peabody Essex Museum, which reported a 5 percent increase in attendance from 2008 to 2009 and record sales at the museum gift shop.
"Charitable giving was off, individual donations were off, and the endowment took a hit to its value," said Jay Finney, chief marketing officer for the Peabody Essex Museum. "On that stance, this wasn't a great year, but in terms of the true measure of people's experience and love for the museum, we had a great year. We had attendance gains pretty much all year long."
Conversely, hallmark attractions like the Salem Witch Museum and The House of the Seven Gables both saw a drop-off in attendance.
"We really took our hits in a variety of months," said Tina Jordan, director of the Salem Witch Museum, where attendance was down 4 percent in 2009, "but things could have been a lot bleaker for us.
"We saw a decline in student tours in the early spring, and that was because of swine flu. In the summer, we saw a small decline in family visitors."
The House of the Seven Gables reflected a similar 5 percent decline in revenues and visitation.
"We expected to be closer to 7 or 8 percent down, so it was actually to the better," said Amy Waywell, director of visitor services and marketing. "In the museum store, people were still buying, but what we were finding was that the total number of sales dropped off, usually in proportion to overall visitation."
Mixed results for hotels
The economy affected occupancy and room rates at local hotels and inns. Salem saw a 13 percent drop in revenue from hotel/motel taxes in fiscal year 2009, compared with the previous fiscal year. There was an 18 percent decline in hotel taxes collected this past September, October and November, as compared to the same period in 2008, according to figures provided by the city Finance Department.
Jon Bercume, general manager of the Salem Waterfront Hotel, said occupancy was down in 2009, but it was the decrease in the average daily rates that was more significant.
"We actually chose to be a little aggressive with our rates in order to drive occupancy," Bercume said. "Once you lose a room for a night, you can't get it back. Our thought process was that we'll get slightly less, but at least we'll get something.
"We had our best October this year and our best December, as well, but those months weren't up significantly enough to absorb the downfall in the other months."
Juli Lederhaus, general manager of the Hawthorne Hotel, said the hotel braced for lean times.
"Generally speaking, our business was down — I think everybody's business was down," Lederhaus said, "but it wasn't as bad as we anticipated."
On the bright side, both hotels saw a solid performance at their restaurants and bars.
"Revenue was up significantly at the Regatta Pub," Bercume said.
At the Salem Witch Museum, there were more local visitors in 2009, but people spent less at the gift shop, buying educational items more than souvenirs, Jordan said.
"The gift shop was definitely down," she said, "and our buyer tried to be more conservative in the items she purchased because we saw the writing on the wall."
Fashion exhibit delivers
At the Peabody Essex Museum, attendance rose from 170,000 in 2008 to 189,000 in 2009, which Finney attributed to two popular exhibits: the Dutch seascapes painting exhibit and the exhibit featuring fashion icon Iris Apfel.
"It was programming plus great merchandising," Finney said.
He said gross sales in the gift shop were up 80 percent in December over the same month in 2008 — the best since the museum reopened in its new building in 2003. Most of that increase he attributed to the Apfel exhibit.
"We sold $300,000 worth of jewelry," Finney said. "That's just off the charts. That really made the year.
"In general, people were spending less after their museum visit — less in food and less in the shop," Finney said. "But again, we had an exhibition that made people go crazy, so that reversed that trend."
The Salem Visitor Center saw a boost in visitors, too. An additional 10,000 people passed through the doors in 2009 than in 2008 — an increase of 3.6 percent — according to the National Park Service, which runs the Visitor Center.
"Overall, I think it's great that we saw an increase," said Kate Fox, executive director of Destination Salem, the city's tourism office. She said the Park Service's National Maritime Site saw a drop-off, which is attributed to the absence of the Friendship, which was away for repairs from summer until November.
"This is just the Visitor Center," Fox cautioned, "and the numbers certainly don't reflect how many people came to Salem in 2009 on a month-by-month basis. But they do track very consistently, so it does reflect good trends."
Overall, the Salem region fared better than the country in hotel occupancy rates, which were down 7.3 percent in Essex County in 2009 as of November. Nationally, the decline was 9.1 percent, according to data tracked by Smith Travel Research, a firm used by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
"I think Salem is a unique place," said Lederhaus, manager of the Hawthorne Hotel. "There are so many things to offer to so many different people. It's not like we're relying on one segment of the population to come, and we're close to major population bases."
Salem Visitor Center
No. of visitors200720082009 % change
January3,3983,2252,649-17.9
February3,7754,1215,10023.7
March6,3649,0336,438-28.7
April15,25314,00913,993-0.1
May16,12017,33617,385.3
June24,74321,66823,3097.6
July38,89832,88333,2911.2
August39,13833,70634,5682.6
September23,03319,64126,75036.2
October90,98399,081105,6866.7
November11,30714,70810,274-30.2
December3,8553,9623,794-4.2
Total276,867273,373283,2373.6
Source: National Park Service
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