Park Attendance Drops for 6th Straight Year
Yosemite National Park is headed for its sixth straight year of decreased attendance.
Officials blame the slowing economy and the events of Sept. 11. Nearby business owners, who rely on tourism, said the drop could be caused by increased entrance fees, media coverage of the Cary Stayner triple-murder case and natural calamities.
So far this year, more than 1.8 million people have visited Yosemite--down nearly 41,000 from the same time last year, according to statistics kept by park officials.
Projections for all of 2002 are about 3.4 million, down from more than 3.5 million in 2001.
Attendance first began declining in 1997, after floods wiped out nearly 400 campsites in Yosemite Valley and 220 Yosemite Lodge rooms. That year, entrance fees were raised from $5 to $20.
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