Delaware’s rainy spring weather cleared up just in time for businesses in the Rehoboth and Dewey Beach areas.
Businesses in Delaware’s beach communities see three times the amount of summer visitors on holidays like Memorial Day. But one bad forecast can scare tourists away, according to Carol Everhart, president and CEO of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.
“Bad weather can absolutely deteriorate any high visitation because they will change their plans. They’re going to cancel their reservations. Sometimes it’s just predicted and doesn’t happen but we’ll see the result because it was predicted,” Everhart said.
Everhart estimates that each tourist adds $100 to the area's economy for every day they're present. 300,000 people are expected to visit the the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach area this weekend.
All campsites and nearly every hotel room in the resort area are booked Saturday night.
Tourism is main economic driver for the beaches area, which sees about six million visitors a year. Last year, the area saw a record-high number of visitors: seven million.
Many of the parking meters in the Rehoboth-Dewey Beach area are now accepting credit cards, in response to visitor complaints.
