VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Labor Day weekend marks the end of the summer tourist season. The past few years Virginia Beach has seen a bounce back from the pandemic, but this year some inclement weather, an early back-to-school year may have slowed tourist growth.
People come from all over to visit the Oceanfront.
"We're just going on vacation," said Evan L., a young visitor from Buffalo, NY.
Tourists said favorite parts of Virginia Beach include the plentiful murals and restaurants.
"My parents have become pretty good regulars, so we like to go to the breakfast spots around here and the bars are pretty nice. It's always a good time," said Rebecca Dezso, visiting from Maryland.
Of course, there are plenty of reasons tourists enjoy the sand...
"I like to get a tan and play football and stuff," said Morgan A., a young visitor from Buffalo, NY.
...and the water.
"When you're on a board and you ride through the waves," added Noah H., a young visitor from Buffalo, NY.
Labor Day weekend, however, started with dangerous ocean conditions related to recent hurricanes. By the afternoon, tourists were able to hit the water with Rudee Tours and Virginia Beach Fishing Center, but staff said inclement weather was a theme this tourist season.
"It started out bad, we missed Memorial Day because of the wind. We had a lot of wind in June, but it seems like it's straightened up from the Fourth of July. We had a great Fourth of July," said Skip Feller, captain of Rudee Flipper, manager of Rudee Tours and Virginia Beach Fishing Center.
Feller said Rudee Tours hasn't had an issue with staffing this year like some of the restaurants. He says, however, they felt the impact as Virginia Beach kids started school earlier than past years.
"I want to say business dropped right off last week when school started," said Feller.
But there's good news too. He said they're seeing great Labor Day crowds.
"We've had a lot of people here once the weather straightened up. We have to wait for the end, but hopefully it will turn out to be a decent year," said Feller.
The City of Virginia Beach reported tourism spending reached a record high at $2.1 billion in 2021. Numbers for last year and this year have not yet been released. However, this year hotel revenue is up according to Smith Travel researchers. They report Virginia Beach hotel revenue increased this year by 33% compared with pre-pandemic 2019.
