Changing Routes for Tour Buses Hurt Shops at Aquinnah Cliffs
By KATE BRANNEN
There is only one listing under Tourist Attractions in the Vineyard
Yellow Pages. It's the Gay Head Lighthouse at 9 Aquinnah Circle.
Despite its status as one of the Island's most breathtaking views,
fewer tourists than usual will see it this summer due to a change in
tour bus routes.
On a recent day at noon, Adriana Ignacio, owner of On the Cliffs,
one of the shops on the Aquinnah Circle, stood in front of her store,
looking up and down the lane. Except for two people in line at the The
Dreamcatcher, a food stand across from her shop, the walkway was empty.
No one was shopping. A year ago, at that time of day, it would have been
bustling with activity, she said. Noon used to be known as "the
bus hour."
But the bus hour has disappeared, making for a quiet summer at the
cliffs.
"We're not seeing the people that are buying
mementos," said Berta Welch, who owns Stony Creek Gifts with her
sister Carla Cuch. She said this is easily the slowest summer for
business they've seen. The two sisters grew up in the shop, which
their mother started 54 years ago,
SRC="http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/07/27/content/berta_and_company_sm.jpg" Due to rising gas and insurance prices, Island Transport Inc., the
Island's only tour bus company, has changed its operations and now
offers two tours instead of one full Island tour. This means fewer buses
make the trip up to the cliffs. As a result, the merchants, who rely
heavily on the delivery of day trippers to their shops, are suffering
due to the drastic decrease in foot traffic.
"We don't have a port or downtown area, so the need is
greater for them to come here," said Donna Mazza Perry, co-owner
of The Dreamcatcher.
In years past, the tour bus company offered only one tour, which
made an entire loop of the Island, regularly bringing customers up to
Aquinnah, in addition to the other Island towns.
In an effort to address their own decline in customers, Island
Transport Inc. decided to offer two tours this summer, hoping to make
better use of their fleet of buses.
"We've been declining since 1998," said Chad
Metell, manager at Island Transport.
Because the Island is becoming less of a tourist attraction and more
a resort destination, Mr. Metell said there was a need to change the
business strategy. "We've had a larger demand to spend less
time on our buses and more time in the towns shopping," he said.
The move to two tours was made in conjunction with the decision to
take trolleys out of the daily tour service. Before, they were used to
do the down-Island tour, taking passengers to shop in Edgartown. The
trolleys are now used exclusively for weddings and the buses drop
passengers off in Edgartown for an hour as part of the Martha's
Vineyard Island Tour, which also goes through Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven
and West Tisbury.
"People get tired of looking at trees and hearing corny
jokes," said Tom Dresser, a tour bus driver and author of
Tommy's Tour of the Vineyard. "People seem to like it better
because there's not as much time on the bus."
The company also offers a separate Aquinnah tour, which takes
passengers up scenic South Road and drops them off at the cliffs for a
half hour to eat and shop.
The Island tour leaves regularly from Vineyard Haven and Oak Bluffs,
but the buses to Aquinnah wait until they are full before they make the
trip.
Mr. Metell said the buses can seat 44 people and in years past they
were sending them to Aquinnah with 12 to 14 people on board.
"Now we're maximizing our equipment and going up with
full capacity," he said. But this means that on average only two
buses a day go to Aquinnah.
Ms. Mazza Perry kept track of the buses last summer in order to
stock enough food for customers at the Dreamcatcher. She still has the
slip of paper for May 22, 2006 when she recorded the arrival of 13 buses
and noted that nine of them were full.
The bus company has told the merchants that if the demand is there
and they can fill the buses, they will send them up.
"We are all just wondering, why suddenly is there a loss of
interest in coming to the Gay Head Cliffs?" said Ms. Mazza Perry.
"They are certainly one of the most beautiful spots on the Island
with their view of the surrounding islands and beaches."
For a day tripper with a limited amount of time on the Island, the
Island tour may be a more desirable option than waiting for a full bus
to Aquinnah, even if the payoff in terms of scenic beauty is greater.
Both tours are two and a half hours long and each costs $23. But the
Aquinnah tour racks up more mileage and therefore operates at greater
cost to the company.
"I can't please everybody," said Scott Dario,
owner of Island Transport, a company that has been in his family for
years. "I'm trying to give the best positive experience I
can for my patron."
He said the same way the shops at the cliffs rely on the tour buses,
his company depends on the number of passengers coming over on the
boats. He described it as a pyramid effect. Unfortunately the shops at
the cliffs are at the very top. Their success is reliant on other
businesses.
Mr. Dario said he has met with the merchants, selectmen and members
of the Wampanoag tribe in an effort to find solutions to the problem. He
said he tries to market and prominently advertise the Aquinnah tour.
It is well highlighted on the tour company's Web site.
"Gay Head is recognized worldwide for its dazzling red clay cliffs
and natural beauty," the site says. And the tour is listed above
the other tour. However, there is an asterisk next to the description
that reads, "Aquinnah tour ticket is only available at
Martha's Vineyard Sightseeing kiosk on Circuit avenue,"
while the Island tour ticket is listed as available at a number of
locations.
Mr. Metell said it is possible to buy the ticket at other places,
including the Steamship Authority terminals, despite what's
advertised on their Web site.
Mr. Dario echoed the worries of the merchants on the cliffs, saying
the decline of the day tripper is hurting his business as well. He also
said he believes recent protests against tour buses traveling on certain
roads represents a negative attitude toward tourists.
"The Island caters to summer residents," he said.
"It doesn't cater as well to the families and seniors who
used to flock here."
Residents of Moshup Trail in Aquinnah, Music street in West Tisbury
and East Chop Drive in Oak Bluffs have complained about the tour buses
using those roads.
"If it had to do with conservation I would agree," Mr.
Dario said, but he believes residents just don't like seeing tour
buses on their streets.
"I fought it with East Chop Drive and now I'm fighting
it with Music street and Moshup Trail," he said, adding that
people seem to forget that the Island is based on tourism. "What
better way to embrace the day tripper than by allowing them to see the
natural beauty of the Island?"
Mr. Dario holds licenses that protect his company from being barred
from certain roads. But out of courtesy to town residents, he said he
tries to comply with their wishes. He currently does not use East Chop
Drive as part of his daily tour.
"We have no problems whatsoever using Moshup Trail," he
said.
Mr. Dario said he's not alone in feeling the impact of the
decline of the day tripper. His fellow businessmen in Oak Bluffs talk
about it all of the time, he said. Their businesses are hurting.
"I'm hoping it's just a cycle. I wish business was
thriving. I don't think we'd have this problem in Gay Head
if it were," he said.
For the time being, the shop owners have little choice but to wait
for more buses to arrive and begin thinking about alternative ways of
getting customers out there.
The Vineyard Transit Authority could benefit from all of this, but
for now the typical day tourist doesn't know about the public
buses, and to get to the cliffs from any of the ferry towns requires
more than one transfer.
"Maybe what will develop is the tribe could get into
eco-tourism," said Ms. Welch.
Along with the other shop owners, she said it makes her sad to see
such a unique place of natural beauty left out of the main tourist loop.
She said Moshup Trail and the cliffs are "our Grand Canyon.
Without the cliffs, they're not getting an Island tour at
all."
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