Outside Erie

Nice work by Erie Times-News photographer Rob Engelhardt, who captured a point-of-view video of the new Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer.
Of course, you can’t ride the coaster just yet. But the GoErie video gives a virtual preview of what it’s like. The views look fantastic.
Here it is:

… the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby will have any impact on the new horse racing track at Presque Isle Downs
… the ridiculously high gas prices will help or hurt Erie’s summer tourism market
… the same ridiculously high gas prices will encourage people in Erie to finally use public transit
… the recent […]

Erie’s Jerry Uht Park doesn’t get a lot of love from the locals.
But the writers at ESPN.com had some great things to say about the seats along the first-base side of Erie’s downtown park.
The Web site ranked the 10 best views in all of minor-league baseball — and it puts the first base reserved seats […]

Steve Srnka over at 4280 has taken seriously the assignment to come up with the perfect 36-hour itinerary for a visitor to Erie.
I’m still working on my schedule. And I invite you to post yours, too.
Srnka, btw, has an itinerary that includes North East wineries, Presque Isle Downs, and Jerry Uht Park — to name […]

The New York Times travel section does a regular feature called “36 Hours In” and it gives travelers an itinerary for a weekend trip to a specific locale.
It’s usually a fun read and it gives visitors a great way to get a true taste of a community.
With so many visitors expected to trek through Erie […]

The Manufacturers’ Association of Northwest Pennsylvania issued an opinion piece today that I’d like to share.
It speaks directly to many of the topics we discuss in this space regularly.
And because of the size and influence of the association, I think it’s worth reproducing here.
Here it is:
There is no question that the tourism and service industries […]

Too often when we debate a topic, people take an all-or-nothing approach.
You either line up with the Democrats or the Republicans.
You either favor manufacturing or tourism, it can’t be both.
You either support the bayfront Convention Center wholeheartedly, or you think it’s a complete waste.
You either drink Coke or Pepsi.
But when people line up fully behind […]

VisitErie today has a list of new conventions and events that are coming to Erie between March and October.
The economic impact of these events — an estimated $13.1 million — is nothing to sneeze at. Every dollar counts, though as we’ve discussed earlier, Erie cannot count just on visitors’ dollars to grow its economy.
Still, the […]

It wasn’t long ago that economists were predicting doom if oil prices crossed the $50-per-barrel barrier.
Today, they’ve been hovering around $100 per barrel — and there’s speculation that that price could double to $200 per barrel by year’s end.
That number is a long shot — and there’s also speculation that prices could fall significantly in […]

GlobalErie commenter Jim had some pointed questions about Erie’s hotel business during a recent thread on the hotel tax.
While hotel tax revenues are up considerably in recent months, Jim speculates that room rate increases — not increases in occupancy — are what’s driving much of the jump.
The problem, though, is that nobody in Erie’s tourism […]