The foliage, viewed from Boardman Hill Road, turned nicely in West Rutland this fall. Photo: Cassandra Hotaling / Rultand Herald

Bruce Edwards Staff Writer

If the number of visitors passing through the state is a good indication, Vermont's tourist-dependent businesses experienced a strong foliage season.

Millions of visitors travel to the state each fall to see the Green Mountains turn shades of red, yellow and orange. When they come, they shop, dine and stay — with the 3.7 million tourists spending $375 million.

Greg Gerdel, who handles research and operations at the Vermont Department of Tourism, said traffic in the state increased substantially over the Columbus Day weekend. Gerdel said 59,038 people stopped at six of the state's key welcome and visitor centers during the holiday weekend compared with 45,997 a year earlier and 48,912 in 2007. The 2009 figures do not include the Highgate visitor center, which was one of four visitor centers closed earlier this year.

In September, overall traffic in the state increased 4.5 percent over the prior year, said Gerdel, citing Agency of Transportation traffic counts. He said that traffic along the six access roads to the state's ski areas was up an average of 11 percent during September.

The national economy remains mired in the doldrums but tourism industry representatives say that may be working to the state's advantage as people stay closer to home to vacation.

Bruce Hyde, commissioner of Tourism and Marketing, said Vermont's tourism sector has fared much better than other states.

During the worst recession in memory, Hyde said Vermont's tourism-related tax revenue is down 3 percent to 4 percent for the year. He said nationally rooms and meals tax revenues are down an average of 15 percent with some states down 20 percent or more.

A clear indication of how the state fared is still a few weeks away.

Hyde said final rooms and meals tax figures for the foliage season won't be tallied until December.

The Stowe area enjoyed a banner foliage season.

Ed Stahl of the Stowe Area Association said business during the season was "very strong" across the board: lodging, restaurants, attractions and retail.

Stahl said economic activity has been improving since August so a strong foliage season was not unexpected, especially with this fall's brilliant colors. Helping out was The Weather Channel, which sent a crew up to Stowe over the Columbus Day weekend.

That's not to say visitors were spending recklessly.

"When they call looking for hotels, it's still, 'let's make a deal,'" said Stahl, the group's executive director.

And during the popular Stowe Foliage Arts and Crafts Festival, visitors were buying, "but buying carefully," he said.

At the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Sam van Trapp said given the state of the national economy, the family was pleased with business.

"We were happy to be back to basically a similar level of activity to last year," van Trapp said.

Rainy weather on some weekends put a bit of a damper on outdoor activities at Killington Resort. But overall, Killington spokesman Tom Horrocks said the resort did well with lodging running slightly ahead of foliage season a year ago.

He said Killington's Brewfest sold out with 1,500 attendees while gondola ride ticket sales were strong.

The weather did impact some outdoor activities at Pico, its sister resort, including the alpine slide.

Vicky Tebbetts of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce said travelers to the state are still looking for a bargain. "I think there is a sense they are going for the better buys or things perceived to be a better buy," Tebbetts said, "or if they're willing to splurge that splurge may not be as long a trip or as many meals out."

For Manchester, a magnet for outlet shoppers and home to nearby Stratton and Bromley resorts, the fall proved to be a boon to local businesses, said Beth Meachem, interim executive director of the Manchester and the Mountains Chamber of Commerce.

"Our lodgings were full for the most part and there were a lot of people in town," Meachem said, " and we saw a lot of (shopping) bags in people's hands."

She said Hildene, the former home of Robert Todd Lincoln, had a strong season with a large number of bus tours.

The Ben & Jerry's ice cream plant tour in Waterbury continues to be a popular attraction. Visits in September were up 20 percent from a year ago to 35,000 while October visits to date total 43,000, a few percentage points ahead of last year, said company spokesman Sean Greenwood.

bruce.edwards@rutlandherald.com