Pocono News Section

Memorial Day Travel Review

Memorial Day Travel Review - Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 5:20PM EST

SHAWNEE ON DELAWARE, MONROE COUNTY - It's time to count up the receipts from the big holiday weekend. Tourism is the Pocono region's top industry. It provides about 20,000 jobs. So Eyewitness News checked in with one resort to see how the business is holding up in this economy.
It appears tourists will drive to the Poconos despite, or perhaps because of, the economy. Gene Torres of New York said, "We said let's just get away - the proximity to New York was great - the rates are great."

Gene and his wife Marjie visited the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort to celebrate Marjie's birthday. They traveled to the resort from Long Beach. Marjie said, "It was amazingly short - it was under two hours to get here."

The couple thought about flying somewhere but the deals weren't as good as they first seemed. Gene explained, "Flying - while it appears to be cheaper - They charge per bag now - and we golf so there's an extra fifty dollars each way just for golf bags."

The Shawnee Inn was almost completely booked over the Memorial Day weekend and the hotel manager tells us that's a great sign for the rest of the summer. "We hope that New Yorkers and those that are close to here want to stay close to home," said General Manager Rob Howell.

Mike and Rite Lee live less than two hours away. They said they'll definitely make the drive again because everyone needs a break, even when the economy is bad. Rita said, "We love the area - it's very much relaxing."

Tourism officials say overall the weekend was solid but not spectacular.