Despite declining numbers at its Highway 11 visitor’s centre, Muskoka Tourism has reported an increase in area visitors over last summer.

“The news is largely good . . . across the board and throughout the district,” said Steve Inniss, Muskoka Tourism’s director of marketing on Monday. “Most of our operators are reporting a better summer than in the recent past.”

Inniss said while there is currently no method to record the exact number of visitors to the area, something Muskoka Tourism hopes to change in the near future, local operators have said issues like the high cost of fuel and a soaring Canadian dollar have had little effect on their number of guests.

Nonetheless, the summer hasn’t been kind to all of the area’s tourism operators.

“Some of the smaller inns and motels have reported slow times . . . and a few nights where they were empty,” said Inniss. “That could be because of the new hotel chains that have recently opened up in the area.”

Inniss also reported that visitors to the Highway 11 visitor’s centre were down about six per cent over 2006. However, he said the visits to the Muskoka Tourism website have skyrocketed by 76 per cent over last year.

The website saw 16,965 new unique visitors in August alone, said Inniss, with guests spending an average of six minutes online per visit.

“I think a lot of people are getting things like maps and guides that they may have dropped in for before,” he said.

Inniss said Muskoka Tourism is able to track which areas of the website receive the most traffic.

“The steamships are number one. People are looking at the schedules and the costs,” he said. “The ‘things to do’ section is very popular, so is ‘places to stay,’ as are attractions like Santa’s Village and, of course, golf.”

The number of American visitors seems to be down, said Inniss, but that has never been a large part of the tourist demographic.

Although the official tourism season may be slowing down, Inniss said Muskoka Tourism has several initiatives that will be keeping them busy during the winter months.

One of their primary goals is to implement a district-wide survey to get a better grasp of how many people are visiting the area, and what they think of their experience.

They will also be working to strengthen ties with local municipalities and the various departments and staff who handle tourism-related activities.

Provided funding can be secured, Inniss said they are looking to revamp their website, and install a new electronic sign on Highway 11 to better keep up to date with local events.