The Charleston Harbor Queen, part of Gray Line Water Tours, sits at dockside on a foggy morning last week. Numbers were down last quarter for the tour company. Still, he was able to predict an economic slowdown back in September. If not, it often means the opposite, even if hotels and restaurants are full, and for the last three months of 2000 his boats and carriages were emptier than normal.
People have to stay someplace.
They have to eat somewhere. Mine is a truly discretionary purchase. We haven't seen a slowdown as bad as others, but our numbers last quarter were definitely down. For the last few weeks, it's been nearly impossible to read the newspaper, pick up a magazine or turn on the television without hearing something about the downward direction of the economy. The big question is whether that direction leads to a recession.