We’re now in the first week of July, and have entered Sedona’s notoriously slow tourist season, when visitation numbers drop off significantly for the next two months before picking up again in September.

There is generally a slight boost around the Fourth of July, as Phoenicians leave the Phoenix metro area looking for a brief respite in Northern Arizona and there’s generally a slight bump in August as families make one last trip up north before sending their kids back to school in the fall. But by and large, tourist numbers are flat through July and August, especially during weekdays.

Anecdotally, June was very slow, with many restaurants closing right at 9 p.m., because there were few customers at few tables. Hotel occupancy was also way down, which a quick drive through any Sedona area hotel parking lot could tell you.

Residents, merchants, business owners and employees have theorized a number of reasons for the June slowdown, some attributing it to instability over the international tariffs, stricter visa checks and difficulty obtaining visas in the first place, the rules for which have fluctuated wildly over the last six months, causing apprehension about traveling internationally to the United States leading to international visitors deciding to visit other countries and spend their money elsewhere.

Travel from Canada and Mexico is down 20% year-over-year. The strong but weakening dollar against other foreign currencies, except the Euro and the British Pound, might also detour tourists.

The World Travel and Tourism Council, a Londonbased non-governmental forum for tourism industry data reported in May that it projected U.S. visitor spending might fall by $12.5 billion compared to last year and drop to a total around $169 billion.

Others suggest that the relatively cooler temperatures in the Phoenix area — while still hotter than in Sedona and the Verde Valley — made it more likely that Phoenicians stayed closer to home rather than heading north to escape the heat that normally arrives in June.

Due to low occupancy, some Sedona hotels are offering uncharacteristically low room rates to attract visitors to come north from Phoenix or Southern California even as the high summer temperatures in Sedona, especially in the afternoon, reduce the number of people hiking on Sedona area trails.

There has been a noticeable drop off in the number of future tourists asking for hiking or outdoor recommendations on Facebook groups and Reddit subreddits, although not so much of a drop off from potential visitors asking about Jeep tours, where tourists can be shaded from the heat, or spas or restaurants to visit, indoor spaces where they can have some sort of respite from hiking in the heat. Traffic in Uptown has also been less congested.

While it can be argued that this may partially be due to the new Forest Road Extension with residents and tourists taking the road rather than go through the ‘Y’ roundabout, the impact of the new road has been negligible simply because the old route through the roundabouts doesn’t make the detour necessary to avoid congestion. Great views though for tourists who decide to take the road in and out of Uptown.

Parking is noticeably lighter, with some public and private property lots devoid of many cars while finding parking along State Route 89A in Uptown has been far easier with plenty of open spots rather than cars waiting in the pull off lanes for other visitors to vacate a parking stall.

For those who have endured summers in Sedona before, this time of year is hardest on local businesses looking to stay afloat until the busy fall. Retail stores, galleries and some restaurants cut back hours, opening later, closing earlier or closing whole days with signs in the windows noting the temporary change in operating hours. Historically a slow summer and winters when we have heavy snow are the two times of year when businesses teetering the brink of profitability make the decision to close permanently.

So if there’s local business, restaurant or service that you enjoy, now is the time to support those businesses with your spending rather than waiting until the fall, when some might have closed, after being unable to make it through the summer.

Considering making purchases now for the winter holidays, birthdays or other events and putting those gifts in the closet in the meantime. Any little bit helps local businesses make their rents especially if it’s an establishment that has a tight profit margin or high overhead or a large staff to serve customers.