Illness strikes blow to tourism

More than 1,300 people have become ill since early June.
TOLEDO (AP) -- Hotels are cutting rates and a ferry boat operator is handing out restaurant coupons to lure visitors back to Lake Erie's South Bass Island where a mystery illness has shaken the resort's only industry.
The tourist business normally takes a hit this time of year with the start of school, but it's only worse now that more are staying away because of the outbreak of gastrointestinal illnesses that has sickened hundreds of travelers.
"People are kind of treating us like we have the plague," said June Stoiber, who owns two taverns and a gift shop in Put-in-Bay.
Business owners worry many won't return until investigators pinpoint a cause of the illnesses despite their discounts and assurances that the village's drinking water system is safe.
"Our season will be over before they tell us what this is," said Tim Niese, who owns two hotels on the island. "There may be ice on lake before that happens."
Niese has discounted room rates -- from $255 a night to $179 -- for the first time in six years.
"It's working," he said. "We're getting a lot of calls."
Many are repeat customers. "People who haven't been to the island are being more cautious," he said.
Sick people
State health officials have talked with 1,377 people who have come down with chills, fever, diarrhea and vomiting since early June after visiting South Bass Island or surrounding areas, which is about halfway between Toledo and Cleveland.
The total includes college students who work in restaurants and bars and tourists from and 17 states from as far away as California and Texas, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
While a few people have reported becoming sick within the last week, most of the illnesses came during the first of August.
Investigators are focusing on private wells that supply drinking water to businesses and homes outside the village. At least 43 private wells have tested positive for either E. coli or total coliform, which could signal the presence of other harmful bacteria.
Investigators suspect this could mean that there is widespread groundwater contamination.
Most businesses catering to tourists, though, are along the village's quaint downtown and receive their water from the municipal water system, which has been tested repeatedly with no negative results.
Those in the village believe the source has been isolated. Some even said business was better than expected last weekend.
Shuttle passengers
Still, the Jet Express, which shuttles tourists from the mainland to the island, had just under 1,000 passengers last weekend. The same weekend a year ago there were 6,000 passengers, said Tom Brady, a media consultant working with village businesses.
"It's like we got hit by a tornado, but we don't have any federal aid," Brady said. "We got wiped out by something you can't see."
Stoiber, whose Frosty Bar is an island favorite for its pizza and frosted glasses of beer, said she's not planning any specials or extra advertising telling folks its OK to visit.
"We need to wait at this point," she said. "I don't think anybody would believe us anyway."
Island business owners gathered this week and considered starting a promotional campaign, but they're also holding off for now.
"We're probably more concerned with the fact that we would like them to find what's causing this," said Maggie Beckford, executive director of the village's chamber of commerce. "I don't know that we can move forward until that happens."
The resort island draws about 500,000 annually to its inns, wineries, beaches and bars. Most come in July and August, but there is still time to save what's left of the tourist season, Brady said.
Upcoming events such as Historical Weekend, which includes a military encampment and a performance by the Toledo Symphony Orchestra on Sept. 11, and the rowdier "New Year's Eve at the Bay" the following weekend should help draw visitors.
There's also The Island Grape Festival and Halloween Bash at the Bay in October.
"We still have two big months," Beckford said. "I hope we do have some people who will come up. "We're open. We want people to know that."