2009 Numbers holding steady in Park CountyAfter the first four months of 2009 showed dismal visitor numbers in Yellowstone Park, tourism rebounded in May and June to push the total number of visitors to the park so far this year above the 1 million mark, topping the previous January-June record set in 2007.

June visits totaled 644,000, up 8.5 percent from June 2008, and also marked only the second time in history that numbers for June have topped 600,000.

Yellowstone Park spokesman Al Nash isn't sure to what to attribute the increase.

“We have some ideas, but we don't do regular, extensive social science work. We expected a good summer, despite the fact that the first few months were really soft,” he said. “We know that Yellowstone remains that quintessential family vacation. It's something many families do generation after generation after generation, but we certainly didn't expect to set a record.”

However, Park County Travel Council Marketing Director Claudia Wade said, “We're certainly not setting any records (in Cody). Lodging tax collections are down, occupancy is down and walk-ins through the visitor center are down. We did have exceptional crowds over the Fourth, but that's not indicative of the rest of the month.”

Wade added, “It's across the board. Some are holding their own, others are matching last year,” but businesses who depend strongly on motor-coach travel are down significantly.

At one point, early this spring, Nash called Yellowstone “recession-resistant, not recession-proof.”

He said that's proving true for 2009.

“We know we're (Yellowstone) less expensive than visiting other tourist attractions that might come to mind. You can scale your visit to Yellowstone, which is unique. Instead of coming for 10 days, you can come for seven, to help meet the time you have available and the budget you can put forward.”

According to Wade, in Park County and in Cody, in particular, travel and spending patterns are different during the current recession.

“I hear from the visitors' center that people are being very cautious about how they spend their money and the activities they do,” she said.

“(Visitors) are not coming from very far away. It's mostly regional tourists and (people from) the Western U.S. ... People within one or two days from us.”