If one were to take a snapshot of local tourism at the height of the season, it would look sunny, with full lodgings and attractions. But that picture would fail to capture a summer start that worried some local business owners — and those worries still exist when asked about the rest of the season.

Some also saw a bifurcation of the tourist-serving market. The market for wealthy visitors remained strong, while the services for average-earning Americans is softened by economic pressures.

Jose DeMatos first came to the Weirs as a tourist in 1991, when he stayed at a small cottage he rented near the Weirs Channel. When he called to come back for the following year, he found out the owner had died, and he ended up buying the business. He’s owned Channel Cottages since 1992, and met his wife when she stayed as a guest in 1998.

Channel Cottages is a throwback business. The Weirs used to be full of such places, small clusters of freestanding cabins, owner-operated and priced to appeal to working-class people who typically drive up from southern New England.

In today’s market, DeMatos’ business, once just like about a dozen others on Weirs Boulevard, stands out as novel. He doesn’t try to compete with the crowd looking to win bookings via search engines; instead he relies on old-fashioned strategies.

“Repeat business is keeping us going,” DeMatos said, adding that after 33 years in business, “guests know the value they’re getting.”

After years of growth, last year was an “adjustment,” as DeMatos put it. This year started well, with June showing a modest but encouraging uptick, and he expects his July kept that pace. “But August is concerning. After the first week, there’s lots of availability.”

He's not particularly surprised. “I’ve seen this coming over the winter. It’s become more and more apparent that the demand is gone,” he said.

His clientele is squeezed by economic trends such as lingering inflation and higher rents and mortgage rates. Meanwhile, the proliferation of short-term rentals such as Airbnb have created an overload of supply in relation to demand.

Just down the road is one of the region’s landmark hospitality businesses, The Naswa Resort. Cynthia Makris, the third generation of her family to run the place, which includes cottages, hotel rooms, a restaurant and beach bar, said her summer started well, with “one of the best Fourth of Julys we’ve seen in years,” but bookings have been “soft” compared to what she’d like to see — and that she sees similarly low levels of activity beyond her own business.

“The lake is quieter than it should be this time of year,” Makris said. She’s hearing people talk about the effect higher living costs and uncertainty are having on their vacation planning, and it’s showing in their behaviors.

“I think people will take shorter vacations and they’re booking closer,” she said, meaning people who used to reserve a room months in advance are now waiting until a few days before their stay to see what’s available. “They’re playing the forecast,” she said. Fortunately, the weather has been largely favorable this summer. “Once they see that the weather is going to be nice, the phones ring off the hook. You can’t blame them after last year.”

That leaves owners like her with “a little agita,” she said, when there’s openings on her calendar at the height of summer. She has responded by offering mid-week “inflation buster” specials at the beach bar, so local people who want a little break can meet up with friends without spending too much.

“It’s our 89th year, we’ve weathered many storms,” Makris said. “People are really happy to be up here. Last year was such a bummer [weather-wise], people are really joyful to be on Winnipesaukee, and that’s wonderful.”

The Castle in the Clouds isn’t on the Big Lake, but its the historic mansion and expansive mountaintop grounds offers some of the best views of Winnipesaukee. Chuck Clark, executive director of the castle, said 2024 started unexpectedly slow, then, “July 1, it was like someone opened up a tap and all the tourists showed up.”

This year’s July at the castle has set double-digit increases over the same month last year, Clark said, helping to erase the losses in June.

“June dug us into a hole, and we’re digging out of it,” he said.

He wasn’t quite sure why the two months were so different. Anecdotally, he said he heard from some people who waited longer than usual to plan or take their vacations, and from others who canceled trips abroad and instead visited local attractions.

“It looks like people are planning to come, but just later in the season than we expected them to,” Clark said, adding he’s “cautiously optimistic” for the rest of the season. “The economic and political uncertainty in the world is probably having some effect. I think that’s a factor, but I don’t think it’s a big factor.”

Diversified market

This year’s tourism season has had the fortune of great weather, especially during prime holidays such as Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, said Amy Landers, executive director of the Lakes Region Tourism Association. She said she has also seen positive results from marketing efforts to draw visitors from New York and New Jersey, in addition to the typical visitors from southern New England.

“We have a strong drive market, but it’s getting people from a little bit further away,” Landers said. That’s a significant strategy, because people who plan a vacation from farther away tend to stay longer, book in advance and are less likely to cancel based on weather forecasts.

And, despite any economic anxieties, Landers noted there’s plenty of evidence Americans are still willing to travel. Over holiday weekends, Interstate 93 was “bumper-to-bumper,” she said, and noted airline travel continues to surpass pre-pandemic levels.

Landers noted while some industries which rely on expendable income have experienced a dip, others have been remarkably strong. “I think the high-end is still spending a lot. As you see the boats, the cars. The mid-level boats are not going as fast as the high-level boats, I think there’s two different markets,” she said.

That’s one area of strength for the Lakes Region, Landers said. While places like Weirs Beach have historically been an escape for working-class people, the contemporary mix of visitors is much more diverse, and there is an equal mix of businesses ready to meet their varied expectations of service and cost.

There are some parts of the market which could be better developed, though, said Karmen Gifford, president of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce. While there used to be motels and affordable cottages, many of those have been converted into condos. Meanwhile, new hotels have targeted the well-heeled market. The budget-conscious visitor might be able to find a short stay at a modest Airbnb, but that doesn’t appeal to business travelers.

“I had a local company that had corporate folks coming in, they needed multiple rooms, and they didn’t want to pay $500 per room for five days,” Gifford said. A short-term rental wasn’t desirable, either — who wants to share a bathroom with their co-workers?

Gifford said she is fielding inquiries this summer for next year, inquiries from people who want to come for a week and moor their boat, and, as the area is increasingly becoming a destination for performing arts, “the under 21-year-olds coming for concerts and wanting a place to stay over, but most places won’t rent to 19-year-olds,” Gifford said. “We don’t really have hostels in our area, which is typically where they would go.”