HYANNIS, MASS. (WHDH) - It’s been a summer of sharks on Cape Cod, but with all of the sightings keeping people out of the water, are they keeping people away from spending money?
According to the White Shark Conservancy, there have been more than a dozen sightings in the past two days.
Wendy Northcross of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce says that sharks are not affecting businesses on the Cape.
“The sharks heretofore have been a really good thing for business, it’s been the curiosity,” Northcross said, “The frequently asked question at the visitors center is ‘where can I go to see the sharks?'”
White sharks are fascinating but also make people nervous.
A 7NEWS viewer responded to a shark story on our Facebook page saying “I am just going to stay in the pool when we go to the Cape,” and one man tweeted “This is exactly why God invented swimming pools.”
Steve Senna owns a Hyannis pool company, Swimming Pool and Spa Design, and says the shark sightings are good for his company. He is building more residential pools and finds Cape hotels and motels are putting off plans to rebuild theirs.
“I gotta put a hold on it because their business is not as, and some say 20 percent off and some say 30 percent off,” he said.
Main Street in Hyannis looks busy, and if the local surf shop can’t sell as many boogie boards they will move on to Cape Shark T-Shirts.
“So far the sharks are not driving business away, we know there’s 4,000 more people a day coming over the Sagamore bridge southbound,” Northcross said.
Shark sightings are the new norm for local businesses and the CEO of the Chamber of Commerce says she’ll be interested to see the final numbers when the season is over.
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