Dec. 29—BRAMWELL — Higher prices at the gas pump coupled with inflation reduced Hatfield-McCoy Trail permit sales by about 8.2 percent this year, but falling fuel prices could be the sign that regular grow is returning in 2023.

Trail passes sales for this past season, which ended in November, are still being counted, Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk of the Hatfield-McCoy Recreational Authority said Wednesday.

"We're still reconciling numbers, but on the revenue side we're down about 8.2 percent," he said of trail pass sales. "So we expect our revenue sales to come right in line with that, which could be between 87,000 and 88,000. We don't know our exact number, but it would be an 8.2 percent decease and we budgeted for that. We knew we'd have a pull back this year."

Ridership decreased considerably when Gov. Jim Justice closed the Hatfield-McCoy Trail in March 2020 to slow the spread of COVID-19, but it rebounded after the trails were reopened in May that same year. Trail pass sales continued to grow, but they slowed when inflation drove up prices and gasoline prices grew as well.

Gasoline prices have had more impact on visitor numbers than the COVID pandemic, Lusk said. The latest sales figures were tied to fuel prices.

"We saw this every time fuel prices got at or near $4 a gallon," he said. "Every time it got near $4 a gallon, we saw a noticeable decline in permit sales."

Fuel is the second-largest expense ATV tourists must pay when they come to the Hatfield-McCoy Trail, Lusk said.

According to a 2021 study prepared by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University, the trail system's out-of-state visitors spent most of their vacation money on accommodations followed by fuel for their vehicles. The third-largest expense was prepared food, followed by groceries, retail shopping, trail vehicle repairs, entertainment and visiting local attractions.

"If not for fuel prices, we probably would not have seen a decline at all this year," he said.

Fuel typically is not one of the bigger expenses on driving vacations to destinations such as Disney World in Florida or Myrtle Beach, SC, but the circumstances are different for ATV tourists, Lusk stated.

When coming to the trail or driving home, ATV tourists are usually hauling their off-road vehicles on trailers, which can double or triple the cost of refueling. Once they arrive, they're still using gas when they ride their ATV along the trails.

"Their entire activity revolves around the combustion engine," Lusk said.

"It may not bother someone driving to Disney World, but when doing this type of vacation, it may be two tanks to get there and two tanks to get back, and they're using fuel the entire time. We're impacted far greater than other driving activities."

Inflation's impact on household budgets affects how much consumers are willing to spend on their vacations.

"Vacations are always our last money spent," Lusk said.

Permit sales during October and December were "flat," but now they are slightly up, Lusk said. Ridership very much depends on the weather. By May, the trail authority usually has a good idea how well ridership will grow that year.

"The first riders start coming when the weather turns nice," he said. "Sometimes that's March, sometimes that's April, and usually we have only a single transaction with the rider. We give them an annual permit. Our seeing how that year's going to be is dependent on when that first trip is made. We actually sell 65 percent of our permits that first half of the year."

Due to changing weather, it's almost impossible to tell how well a season will do compared to last year's season," Lusk said.

"You almost have to wait until May," he added.

Ridership grew in 2020 and 2021, and this year's higher gas prices have had more impact than precautions against COVID. Lusk again said that vacation money is the last money a household spends because it's something that can be controlled.

Lusk said he was excited about the coming year. Gasoline prices have been declining.

"I think we're going to have a great year," he said, "Maybe the worst is behind us and we can get back to our pattern of growth."

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com