As we begin the third week of North Carolina’s Stay at Home order I hope you, your family and your friends are all well and staying safe as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Around here in Emerald Isle, the highest priority over the past week, aside from staying healthy, has been to plan and prepare for a gradual soft opening for our businesses once the statewide, county and town travel and vacation rental restrictions are lifted.
Like each one of you, everyone here is doing their best to discern how to balance staying physically healthy in our little corner of the planet with becoming economically healthy again. At his press conference today, Governor Roy Cooper has not extended the April 29 Stay at Home order but has discussed again in detail that he will be looking at testing, contact tracing and trends to make his decision about when to reopen our state. He has promised an announcement later this week concerning the Stay at Home order. Earlier Gov. Cooper described the North Carolina reopening as a “dimmer switch, not a sudden light switch.” Still to be answered is when will the peak of the pandemic be for North Carolina? This, too, is a subject for debate and some studies show that we may not peak, especially the rural areas, until mid to late May. Another factor is the survey from over the weekend where 60% of Americans feared we would re-open the economy too soon and only 30% thought we would re-open the economy too slowly. Most important of all, when will Americans feel it is safe to travel to their favorite vacation spot here in Emerald Isle, again?
As for me, I am adopting a policy of patience and waiting for the restrictions on travel to be lifted while continuing to sell donuts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday on a takeout and online ordering basis, only (visit www.FlipFlopsDonuts.com for updates and menus.) Many economists, including those hosted by the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce in a webinar last week, believe consumer confidence and traveler confidence will converge somewhere between Memorial Day and June 1. Both our business instincts and all of our recent research indicate the tourism industry on the North Carolina coast should be almost business as usual for the summer months and it is extremely likely tourism will remain strong into September and October as well. Playing in the clean waters of the Atlantic Ocean and enjoying our uncrowded beaches will be a strong antidote after weeks of quarantining in larger cities.
The past few weeks it feels like we have had more questions than answers but the answers are now taking shape for how we will re-open Emerald Isle not only for vacationers but also for real estate sales.
If April showers bring May flowers, lets hope May brings the return of our vacationers, our businesses and our health.
To learn more me, real estate in Emerald Isle, NC, my town of residence, sign up for my blog on my website, www.EIHomesforSale.com, or subscribe to Emerald Isle Vacation Home Specialist on You Tube. If you want my free Guide to Living Were You Vacation, text your email address to: 919-308-2292. Stay well and stay safe.
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