![]() "This is not normal times," said Pollock, citing the strain and unknown factor that out-of-town visitors pose for local emergency personnel. With roughly 5,000 residents in Garfield County, Commissioner Leland Pollock is hoping that people will still continue to visit the county and use it as a way to practice social distancing. "This is something that I haven't lived through I've never seen anything this extreme." "It's effected us substantially and all these rural communities, all these rural counties and I suspect even in the city areas also there's a big impact," said Sheriff Perkins. Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins agrees that it's a 'double-edged sword' citing the need for business and visitors but to also protect one-another from potential spread of the COVID-19. "They're coming in from other places that may have already been exposed to the COVID-19 virus." "We would like people to come to visit Bryce Canyon National Park and stay and visit the businesses and financially support them, but at the same time we understand that that means," said Brinkerhoff. According to the National Parks Service, over 2.6 million visitors came to Bryce Canyon National Park in 2018. It's believed that thousands would enter the park in late March of 2019. He also noted that driving into Bryce Canyon National Park on Tuesday morning, only a few hundred cars had come through the day before. ![]() Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins spoke with numerous business owners and estimates that roughly 35,000 hotel reservations were canceled. "All of our reservations for the next month and a half have canceled, now we're experiencing cancellations up into May, even June and July," said Brinkerhoff regarding several hundred canceled reservations. "We're a very seasonal area so we save up all summer long we have to make the bills through the off-months and we pat ourselves on the back for making it through the long cold winter."īryce Canyon City and Tropic were both virtually empty on Tuesday afternoon. "Tropic and the Garfield County are heavily depended upon tourism," said Tyson Brinkerhoff, who co-owns numerous businesses including the Bryce Canyon Inn in Tropic and has had to layoff a number of employees. The dramatic drop in business is showing that people are taking the COVID-19 quarantine suggestions seriously, but it also throws a major curve-ball to local, small-town business owners. But the coronavirus pandemic has also kept domestic travelers at home. Travel restrictions from COVID-19 have completely stopped international travel, which would typically be big business for Utah's 'big five' National Parks. GARFIELD COUNTY, Utah - Milder weather would typically signify a jump in outdoor activity near Bryce Canyon National Park, but those in Garfield County aren't seeing an increase in business.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |