BRANSON — A new marketing report shows that interest in visiting the Branson tourist mecca has slowed.
The Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce said the number of inquiries about vacationing to Branson fell by 400,000 in the past year. Dan Lennon, Chamber marketing vice president, said this week that people simply aren't vacationing as much as they were in 2007.
Lennon said there was a decline of 95,000 visitors during April, May and June of this year.
A chamber report attributes the drop to the high cost of travel, the unemployment rate and inflation.
But many Branson business owners remain optimistic. Dutton Family Inn Human Resource Director Jedd Rothrock said that after a decline in the first half of 2008, "our rooms are filling up."