Media Watch

Times biting the hand that feeds us

Local editorial cartoon is bad for Cape Cod #1 business
It demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the daily's editors

On right is the editorial cartoon at the top of the Cape Cod Times editorial page Saturday April 30, 2011.

It would be a harmful and anti-business thing to publish even if the the point of the drawing were accurate, but it is not.

The editorial page editor has been around Cape Cod for several decades, and unless he's never read anything about tourism in that time, knows as we do what happens to the Cape's tourism when gas prices escalate.

He knows, or certainly should know, that every time there is a hike in gas prices, is HELPS rather than hurts the domestic tourism business.

As recently as this week we reported, once again, that Americans were not curtailing vacations, but were choosing US destinations over ones they had to fly to, and were choosing ones closer to their homes, and Cape Cod is within a tankful of gas from one-third the US population:

Gas prices aren't affecting tourism to Cape Cod
Provincetown among country's favorite

Travel Daily News reports that despite high gas prices, a new survey from HomeAway, Inc. finds the majority of Americans still plan to take a summer vacation, but will adjust their plans in light of rising costs by choosing destinations nearer their homes. Luckily Cape Cod is within a day's drive for one-third of America's population.

According to the survey, 81 percent of respondents report they will take a vacation this summer regardless of the price of gasoline. Of those who typically take a summer vacation each year, 38 percent will not change their vacation plans, saying increased gasoline prices will not affect their travel.

Hawaii was picked as the top "dream" summer vacation spot, but Provincetown is the most popular vacation destination this summer on HomeAway.com. The rest of the top 10 most popular summer destinations are beach areas, with the exception of Las Vegas and New York City.

Read the Travel Daily News  story here.

Cape businesses should ask The Times "why"

Whoever chose this specific Indianapolis Star cartoon was picking it out from dozens available for The Times editorial page and the very start of the tourist season here.

Did that editor think it was funny? Funny for the majority of Cape Cod businesses which depend on our brief summer tourism season for almost all their income each year?

There is not a business here which isn't helped by tourism. Even those not in the hospitality industry directly get much of their business from those which are. One survey claims over 60 percent of all the money earned by everyone on Cape Cod each year comes from our summer visitors.

We hope Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce head Wendy Norcross calls The Times out on this hurtful gesture, as well as the heads of  all the local town chambers of commerce.

You can contact The Times' editorial page editor Williams Mills at (508) 862-1251, or email him at wmills@capecodonline.com.
You may also write CapeCodTODAY an letter at editor@ecape.com.