Wet weather continues to affect summer tourism in The Ocean State

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE)- As we returned to a sense of normalcy this summer many were looking forward to blue skies and fun in the sun.

But so far, a rainy Summer 2021 has brought many of us back indoors.

“The weather doesn’t help because we’re losing those last minute leisure visitors. People who have a free weekend and say oh the weather is nice I’m going to take a quick trip to Providence, so that’s kind of where we are right now,” said President of The Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kristen Adamo

Waterfire, one of the most popular summer attractions, annually held in July, has been postponed till the fall.

Another big hit to Providence, a city that relies on big events to attract visitors.

“Most of the tourists we get are event based…Whether it’s a tour, convention or an event like Waterfire so we’re already starting at a lower bar,” Adamo said.

Another industry that brings people to Rhode Island is restaurants.

Tents have been a common sight and outdoor chairs have either been covered or removed entirely.

Eric Weiner, owner of PVD Trucks has come up with his own way of beating the rain by hiring his own weather team.a

“As much as I love our local weather teams, local weather forecasts give you the forecast for the overall general area. What we’ve done is hire a team of meteorologists to give us the exact forecast of the latitude and longitude of the area where we’ll be in,” Weiner said.

Another usual hot spot come summertime is Federal Hill.

While heavy rain tends to wash out Al Fresco Dining, cloudy skies have them looking on the bright side.

“Providence and other northern areas actually tend to do better on days of overcast because people aren’t going down to South County, Block Island or anywhere by the water. On those days we actually do better, our volume and numbers go up,” Rick Simone of The Federal Hill Commerce Association said.