Forks Washington

Web search assignment – Forks, Washington

Forks, Washington is historically the “rainiest place in the United States,” with an average annual rainfall is 307.34 centimeters per year and the average snowfall is 27.94 centimeters per year. Not a place most tourists would choose to go; too much rain and not enough snow.

Forks has also been called the logging capital of the world, but with the decline of the logging industry turned to sports fishing as a source of revenue. “Pounding rain and heavy mist are constant in this timber town where logging's decline left a graveyard of rusting timber mills and unemployment. Businesses shut down. Parts of the local high school were condemned. Families started to drift away" [ (MALKIN, 2008) ]. According to the 2000 census, the population was of Forks was 3,120, and then “Twilight” came to town.

Thanks to the Twilight phenomenon, Forks has seen a 600% increase in tourism since the publication of the books by Stephenie Meyer (Forks, Washington, 2010), which has breathed new life into this struggling community. Fans from all over the world come to see the real town where their favorite characters lived. At first, residents were baffled when visitors traveled to Forks to photograph themselves in front of local buildings used in the movies.

Tourism boomed with more than 70,000 visitors last year and estimates to exceed that number this year. Forks retailers are the unexpected beneficiaries of a once-in-a-lifetime marketing and retailing bonanza, with retail sales up 15 percent in 2009 to $46.2 million (Erb, 2010).

Conclusion

There have been clear economic benefits to Forks as a result of the filming of the Twilight movies there. With economic benefits come social benefits; more jobs and opportunities with in the community make for happier people. Although, not everyone in town is happy about the Twilight craze, even the most reluctant will acknowledge positive effects of the boost in tourism and influx of money....