Downtown Salem was swirling with tourists and traffic over the long weekend, mirroring an overall bustle this fall that has prompted people to wonder: Is the Witch City busier than it was last Halloween season?

"Every half-hour, it seemed like there were another 100 people in here," said Rina Gonzalez, who works at the Salem Wax Museum on Derby Street, one of the many local shops and attractions.

Over the weekend, tickets at the Salem Witch Museum were booked five hours out, and there was a line out the door at Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery on Derby Street, said Kate Fox, director of Destination Salem, the city's tourism office.

It turns out that city residents and local employees aren't dreaming. The number of visitors over Columbus Day weekend was 15 percent higher than last year, and visitation during the month of September was a staggering 36 percent more than last year, according to statistics recorded by the Salem Visitor Center.

"We've had great weather, especially last weekend," Fox said, "and we did a lot more marketing and promotion about Haunted Happenings in the New England region because of the popularity of 'staycations' and day-trip trends."

Officials are pointing to good weather, lower gas prices than last year, signs of improvement in the economy, more bus tours and a marketing push as factors that may be driving the tourism trend.

At midday yesterday, tourists from Tennessee and Maine mingled with visitors from around the world, milling about the downtown and the waterfront, stopping to pore over maps and pose for pictures — particularly at the Roger Conant statue on Washington Square.

Anne Volker and her husband are visiting from Heidelberg, Germany, and came to Salem for the day yesterday. They watched the informational movie at the Salem Visitor Center and then headed to The House of the Seven Gables.

"I've been here 13 years ago, as a student," Volker said. "It's such a beautiful town, I said, 'I have to go back.'"

For others, like Richard and Mary Nanartowich of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, a day trip to Salem is a rite of passage into autumn.

"We come down to get into the Halloween spirit," Richard Nanartowich said on their way out of the Salem Witch Museum, "and we like the old buildings and the architecture, too, and the seafaring history."

According to statistics recorded at the Salem Visitor Center, 26,750 people came in during September. October numbers are also up so far.

Park ranger Michelle Blees said officials are trying to determine what's causing the increase in visitors.

"It's still been a mix, but we think it's a lot more relatively local tourists," Blees said.

Fox said the hotels haven't been as solidly booked midweek as they typically are in October.

At the Hawthorne Hotel, there have been more cancellations than usual, although those are filling up quickly and there have been a steady number of corporate group bookings, said Kristie Poehler, regional director of sales and marketing.

"We are experiencing some cancellations, and I don't know if that's because people have double-checked their budgets since booking last year," Poehler said. "Luckily, it fills right up again because of the time of year."

So what have tourists been looking to do this Halloween season?

"They want to be scared," Blees said. "For some reason, that's a big thing this year. And people of course still want to know about the witchcraft trials and witches."

She noted that tourists have been cost-conscious this year.

"They also want to know pricing and times because they're still on a budget," she said. "People have been deciding among a number of things, rather than doing everything."

Fox said Destination Salem tried a new marketing tactic this year, distributing brochures in more hotels throughout New England and marketing at four area malls: the Northshore Mall in Peabody, Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, Square One Mall in Saugus and Burlington Mall.

"Last year, we did the highway billboards, and we've shifted that to malls," she said. "The malls have distributed more than 5,000 Haunted Happenings brochures."

Blees said the number of visitors to Derby Wharf has dropped due to the absence of the tall ship Friendship, which is being repaired. It is scheduled to return to Salem in November, she said.

Blees and other officials hope the tourism trend continues throughout October.

"It will be interesting to see if we continue to break last year's numbers," Blees said, "or if people came earlier this year. ... We just hope for the best."

Staff writer Amanda McGregor can be reached at amcgregor@salemnews.com.

Tourism in Salem by the numbers

5% — Increase in National Park Service visitors so far this year, over last year

7% — Increase in October visitors, compared with last October

18% — Increase in Columbus Day weekend visitors, compared with last year

36% — Increase in September visitors, compared with last year

19,641 — Tourists at the Visitor Center, September 2008

26,750 — Tourists at the Visitor Center, September 2009

16,665 — Tourists at the Visitor Center on Columbus Day weekend, 2008

19,713 — Tourists at the Visitor Center on Columbus Day weekend, 2009

3,037 — Visitors to the Information Booth on Essex Street on Columbus Day weekend, 2008

3,183 — Visitors to the Information Booth on Columbus Day weekend, 2009