What's happening in Mission Bay reflects the struggle of middle-class families -- teachers, engineers and plumbers -- to enjoy a few vacation days during one of the worst recessions in a generation.
Ignacio Cisneros, a shuttle van driver at the Ramada Plaza on the outskirts of Mission Bay, has a front-seat view of the struggle. He sees more visitors drive to the vacation spot -- instead of flying -- from places like Arizona. And when the tourists arrive at the hotel, they no longer book pricey tours, he said. Instead, they ask for directions to the grocery stores so they can avoid expensive restaurants.
"The economy is bad," Cisneros said as he sat idling in front of the hotel. "It's affected tourism really bad."
Among those visitors who were cutting back were Matt Gillard, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, and his wife, Susan, a teacher, who brought their two children to Mission Bay to visit SeaWorld, among other attractions. But to save money, they planned to pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.
"We'll do the fun stuff, but we still have to cut back to afford it all," Matt Gillard said as he and his family strolled on the Strand along Mission Beach.
At Hamel's, a Mission Beach souvenir shop, store manager Skyler McManus offers a $5 discount on T-shirts that normally sell for $20. "Things I wouldn't do normally, I will do now," he said as he punched up sales at the store's cash register.
Even with such discounts, he estimates that his sales are down 15% from last year.
Hotels are feeling the pinch, too. San Diego County hotels collected an average of $77.49 in revenue per available room in May, a drop of 26% compared with the same month a year earlier, according to a report by Smith Travel Research Global, which tracks hotel trends.
And the pain has been felt both by economy hotels and high-end resorts. The Motel 6 near Interstate 8 and the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa along the water at Mission Bay are both offering discounts of up to 20%.
"The hotels have had a difficult time, like everyplace in the nation," said Steven Pelzer, a spokesman for Evans Hotels, operator of the Catamaran, the Bahai Resort Hotel and the Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. "We've all had to make adjustments in rates."
