Staycation Directory

Archive for the ‘West Virginia’ Category

Moundsville, West Virginia

The West Virginia State Penitentiary sprawls across 11 acres. The prisoners built it, heavy rock by heavy rock, beginning in 1866. When you watch someone sentenced to “hard labor” in a movie, this place is what the judge had in mind.

That approach to justice lasted until the mid-1980s, when the West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the prison’s 5×7 foot cells were cruel and unusual punishment — particularly because two or more convicts were often crammed into them. It was the beginning of the end for the prison as a prison. The WV State Pen closed in 1995.

Now the penitentiary is open again — as a tourist and local attraction. It also occasionally stages mock prison riots (for guard training), and hosts a surprisingly popular sleepover “ghost hunt” once a month, where people spend the night in the empty, unlit buildings.

Our guide, Tom, loves his job. He can easily stretch the standard 45-minute tour into one twice that length, peppered with stories of prison riots and revenge murders and of how the inmates in North Hall — known as “The Alamo” — would hurl urine and vomit onto the guards.

For such a vast, empty place, the prison is loud — concrete and steel don’t muffle sound. It’s clean but ugly, even if some prisoners did try to spruce the place up a bit. We notice a framed painting on the wall depicting the world’s longest single arch steel span bridge (which is downstate in Fayetteville). “Danny Lehman painted that,” Tom tells us. “He got stabbed through the eye in North Hall. Punctured his brain.”

If this is your kinda thing you will have tons of fun!

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Rock Climbing and Ropes Courses

The New River Gorge is a magnet for climbers from all over the world. But you don’t have to be an expert rock jock to enjoy this sport. Beginners can take half day, full day, or multi day courses from some of the best climbing instructors anywhere.

Ranges and Paintball

Shooting sports have long been a tradition in all 9 of our southern counties. There are ranges for all types of shooting recreation. Paintball courses take battle games to a new level of excitement, and offer a great addition to any visit.

Sports

We’re quickly becoming a sports destination. Our region is home to 3 professional baseball teams and a professional basketball team. We’re also known for tournament sports, with expansive soccer, basketball, and baseball complexes. With state of the art facilities, players are coming from all across the region to compete. The natural features of the region can offer a great reward or consolation for any team during their visit.

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Hiking Trails

Walking in the woods is a great way to spend time when you visit southern West Virginia. If you enjoy nature trails it’s hard to imagine a place with more to offer you. Between our 12 state parks and forests, as well as three areas managed by the National Park Service, there’s hiking to spare for everyone.

ATV and Motorsports

West Virginia is rapidly becoming the center of the ATV world. Much of that has to do with our passion for motorsports, and mountains. But also, we have the largest contiguous trail system, in the Unites States. Our southern mountains are the onramp for pure riding pleasure.

Mountain Biking

Come ride the mountains. Mountain biking on trails, singletrack, or old dirt roads is one of the great attractions in our area. West Virginia is a biker’s heaven, with great rides, great shops, and friendly local riders.

Horseback Riding

Getting on a horse is always a fun addition to a vacation. Here, you can see gorgeous vistas and ride through deep valleys, all with expert cowboys and cowgirls to help guide you.

Caving

Curious about getting underground? The porous limestone of our eastern counties has created some of the most well known and well loved caves in North America.

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Snow Sports

A lot of people would think that our part of the state doesn’t offer snow sports – and a lot of people would be wrong. There are some terrific ways to get outside and play in the winter, including skiing, snow tubing, and so much more.

Hunting And Fishing

For those looking for the thrill of outdoor sports, Southern West Virginia is the place. We’re a sportsman’s paradise, with wonderful whitetail and other game available for all seasons. Some of the best smallmouth bass and trout fishing ;you’ll find anywhere exists throughout our area, just waiting for you to come ply the waters.

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Water Activities

Time on the water isn’t limited to white water. There are fishing and boating opportunities all over our state. Spend some time on our beautiful mountain lakes, or float our rivers, and you’ll get the true feel of the lifeblood of West Virginia.

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

West Virginia resident can have a staycation right in their back yard. Their are so many beautiful attraction to choose from. Start with the State of West Virginia National Park in West Virginia.


The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a 2,174-mile footpath along the ridgecrests and across the major valleys of the Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in northern Georgia. The trail traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is used by day, weekend and other short-term hikers, section-hikers and thru-hikers. Thru-hikers hike the entire length of the Trail in one season. The A.T. began as a vision of forester Benton MacKaye and was developed by volunteers and opened as a continuous trail in 1937. It was designated as the first National Scenic Trail by the National Trails System Act of 1968. The Trail is currently protected along more than 99 percent of its course by federal or state ownership of the land or by rights-of-way.

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Wow!” reads a zany sign atop a metal pole. “See the unbelievable. Mystery Hole.”

The pole juts out of the top of a corrugated metal Quonset hut, along with several American flags. A rainbow of stars, teardrops, question marks, and hypno-swirls adorn the hut’s exterior, along with another emphatic “Wow!” Protruding from its side is an old VW beetle, nose buried, brake lights almost to the road shoulder, its exterior embellished with painted daisies, bird poop, a “Love” license plate, and a loosely-rendered message: “Flower Power.”

Mystery Hole sign.

At the end of the hut, over its entrance, squats a large, black gorilla.

The Mystery Hole definitely knows how to catch the eyes of passing motorists. Its message may be confusing, but no one seems to mind.

Will and Sandra Morrison own The Mystery Hole. Original owner Donald Wilson “discovered” its mysterious powers in 1972, and did a good business from the tourists who flock to this part of the New River Gorge, which is a mecca for rafters. Time, however, was even more powerful than the Hole. Wilson closed his attraction in 1996 and died soon afterward. The Hole was left exposed to vandals and other chaotic forces.

The Morrisons have put in a lot of hard work to restore the Hole to its 1970s glory. This was especially hard for them, as they had moved here from Michigan in a risky career maneuver. Working from old photos and the memories of local folks, they have brought the much-beloved attraction back to life.

Visitors pay to tour the Hole in the Quonset hut gift shop, then walk outside and around the corner to the entrance. There is a stairway down into the unknown (or perhaps just the quonset hut basement).

Over it is a large clown painted on a piece of plywood, and a fresh set of declamatory signs.

Mystery Hole

Address:
Ansted, WV
Directions:
West of town. On US 60 at mile marker 44, just west of Hawks Nest State Park.
Hours:
W-M 10:30-6 (summer); reduced hours and days off-season; closed Nov-Mar. (Call to verify)
Phone:
304-658-9101

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Charlie the caretaker roars out on his ATV to greet us. The West Virginia State Farm Museum normally isn’t open on Mondays, but we’ve called ahead and the management has generously offered to have Charlie show us around.

The museum spreads across 50 acres and has 36 buildings, including a log cabin, an old schoolhouse, a doctor’s office, blacksmith shop, post office, and barbershop. There are displays of threshing machines, cultivators, tractors, carriages, sewing machines, tools, bottle and jars. All of which, frankly, are not that interesting unless you’re into the history of American farming.

General, World’s Largest Stuffed Horse.
General, World’s Largest Stuffed Horse.

Charlie, sensing our disappointment, offers some suggestions.

“There’s a lot of stuff here that you won’t see anywhere else,” he insists. He mentions an old Lutheran church building, supposedly the first one west of the Allegheny Mountains “and the only church with a gun rack in it.” Charlie also tells us of a clothes dryer from the 1700s, “the oldest one in existence.” That sounds promising. “Does it have a sign, saying that?” we ask. Well, Charlie answers, no.

There are, however, items of merit here, and Charlie is happy to lead us to them. For example, tucked away in a small stable by the rest rooms, is the World’s Largest Stuffed Horse.

West Virginia State Farm Museum

Address:
1458 Fairground Road, Point Pleasant, WV
Directions:
4 miles north of town on Hwy 62, then about a mile east on Fairgrounds Rd./Wadsworth Rd.
Hours:
Tu-Sa 9 am – 5 pm. (Call to verify)
Phone:
304-675-5737

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

Coal is the lumpy, black foundation upon which West Virginia rests, both physically and economically. A recent flap of mine explosions and cave-ins reminded us that West Virginia is still chock full of deadly holes where men toil to heat our homes. There really is no attraction better suited to this state than a coal mine.

Don’t let the “Exhibition” in the name of this place fool you. Beckley’s isn’t a phony, like the fake factory at Hershey’s Chocolate World in Pennsylvania. This once served as a working coal mine. It closed in 1910, the city grew up around its entrance, and the area surrounding it became a city park. In 1960 the mine was re-opened as a tourist attraction. We’ve been on plenty of underground tours, but never one where the main thrust is to tell you how to blast a bigger and deeper hole in the ground.

Into the mine.

You’re seated in mine cars and driven in what is essentially a big loop under a hillside, with plenty of stops so that your guide — an ex-coal miner — can point out displays in the murky darkness and fill your skull with mine arcana.

Beckley was a low seam coal mine. “Low seam” means a low ceiling — a fact that you need to remember when you visit. The ceiling is only an inch or two above your head in your mine car. If you stand up while the train is in motion, you will die. This is a grungy tour — full of arcane facts and with nothing really attractive to see. It’s not really geared for kids or the ladies, though our tour includes a mix of family units. You never get out of your seat, and it’s cold and damp in a coal mine, so bring a sweatshirt.


Exhibition Coal Mine

Address:
513 Ewart Ave, Beckley, WV
Directions:
I-77/64 exit 42. Hwy 16 (Valley Drive/Robert C. Byrd Drive) north into town, follow the signs. Cross Hwy 3 (Harper Rd), then a left on Paint St. into New River City Park.
Phone:
304-256-1747

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.

John Brown Wax Museum
John Brown is sometimes described as a murderous fanatic, sometimes as a misunderstood martyr. He’s best known for leading an 1859 slave uprising in Harpers Ferry, which killed several people and freed no slaves. Inept as it was, it was more than anyone else was doing at the time, so Brown is remembered as a man with good intentions and bad execution. He had the fierce look of an Old Testament prophet, and he had a song written about his corpse that was later turned into The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Preserved historic building houses wax museum.

The John Brown Wax Museum tells Brown’s larger-than-life story, and exists today because the block on which it stands became a protected National Historical Park shortly after the museum opened in 1961. The museum thus offers a rare glimpse of Kennedy-era tourism, preserved in all of its cheesy glory.

The museum’s dioramas are scattered throughout a small, old house. You begin the self-guided tour on the first floor, walk your way up to the third floor, then all the way down to the basement, winding through narrow, dark, windowless hallways. Most of the displays have big, green buttons that you can push, with an audible clunk, to hear a taped voice repeat what’s on the sign in front of you

Address:

168 High St., Harpers Ferry, WV
Directions:
Take US 340 to town. Turn north onto Shenandoah St. just west of the river. Drive into town, past High St., and turn left onto Potomac St. Park in the lot to the right, then walk up the hillside staircase to High St. The museum will be on the left.
Hours:
Daily 9-5; closed during winter (Call to verify)
Phone:
304-535-6342

StaycationDirectory

Staycation Definition and History
A staycation (also spelled stay-cation, stacation, or staykation) is a neologism for a period of time in which an individual or family stays at home and relaxes at home or takes day trips from their home to area attractions. Staycations have achieved high popularity in the US during the financial crisis of 2007–2009 in which unemployment levels and gas prices were high.Staycations also became a popular phenomenon in the UK in 2009 as a weak pound made overseas holidays significantly more expensive.The term was added to the 2009 version of the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. Common activities of a staycation include use of the backyard pool, visits to local parks and museums, and attendance at local festivals. Some staycationers also like to follow a set of rules, such as setting a start and end date, planning ahead, and avoiding routine, with the goal of creating the feel of a traditional vacation.
Benefits of a staycation
Staycations are far less costly than a vacation involving traveling. There are no lodging costs and travel expenses are minimal. Costs may include transportation for local trips, dining, and local attractions. “The American Automobile Association said the average North American vacation will cost $244 per day for two people for lodging and meals… Add some kids and airfare, and a 10-day vacation could top $10,000″. Staycations do not have the stress associated with travel, such as packing, long drives, or waits at airports. Staycations may be of economic benefit to some local businesses, who get customers from the area providing them with business. In 2008, the tourism bureaus of many U.S. cities also began promoting staycations for their residents to help replace the tourism dollars lost from a drop in out-of-town visitors.