Quieter foliage tourism season predicted for Vermont in 2020 due to COVID

Out-of-state pilgrims to Vermont's fall foliage beauty spots are signaling their reluctance to travel this year due to COVID-19.

Vermont-Foliage.com, a forum for leaf-peepers that normally buzzes with trip plans, itineraries and bragging rights, "is dead," reported Timothy Palmer-Benson, who moderates the site from his home in the Northeast Kingdom town of Morgan.

"All I'm getting is spammers and the like," Palmer-Benson said Tuesday. "It's going to be a quiet foliage season. For some people, it's going to be a virtual one."

Would-be travelers from states with high rates of COVID-19 infections are put off by the prospect of 14-day quarantines, and the near-isolation they entail, he added.

Furthermore, a sizable chunk of foliage tourists are normally "gray-hairs," a demographic with greater health risks, said Palmer-Benson, who is 75. "They’re the ones that are most likely to get zapped.”

Lower numbers, higher barriers

With the border with Quebec likely to remain closed indefinitely, the pool of potential 'peepers has further shrunk.

Folks who are already in Vermont or those willing to drive from out-of-state counties that register sufficiently low rates of infection, remain the most likely candidates for a trip — even a day trip.

Vermonters are already receiving more official encouragement than usual to gawk at in-state fall splendor (while taking the usual health precautions), says Nate Formalarie, communications director at the Department of Tourism and Marketing.

But the stable of plausible fans from beyond Vermont's borders is in flux, Formalarie said Tuesday. As infection rates fluctuate around the country, they re-draw the online map of counties for which residents merit quarantine-free status.

Pinning down those "moving targets," he added, frustrates his efforts to market the state to people who are most inclined to hop in the car.

"And we don’t want to lose people in our traditional markets, either,” Formalarie said. "We want to continue alerting them to the appeal of this state, even if they’re not going to make the trip this year.”

Hospitality rules

Tourism in October typically adds about $280 million to Vermont's economy — about one-tenth of the year-round total, according to the Department of Tourism and Marketing.

It's too early to predict what impact the pandemic will have in 2020, but it has already challenged Vermonters in the industry to adapt and if possible, survive, Formalaries said: "It's not ideal; it's not perfect."

Leaf-peepers who forge ahead with their quests for color in Vermont will encounter an array of sweet deals, said Mike Chait, public relations director at Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville.

Tourists can expect departures from routine, he added: Every visitor at Smuggs must vouch for their low-risk status in a "Certificate of Compliance." Amenities such as pools and reservoirs will be available on a "sign-up," rather than a "show-up" basis to reduce possible contagion.

Sterling Ridge Resort, also in Jeffersonville, touts its pre-existing social distancing set-up: "No shared common spaces," its website reads, "Our cabins are self-contained, single unit, well-spaced, and fully furnished."

Sterling's guidelines spell out in detail other COVID-era leisure-time protocols, such as cleaning service and check-in/check-outs.

Little is left to chance — which is a selling point this year.

But Vermont's trees, as usual, will whimsically dictate their own terms for an awesome October.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.

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