Despite Yellowstone National Park closing its gates for a little over a week due to historic flooding, tourism industry experts are optimistic the state's second largest industry will do fine this summer.
Wyoming Tourism Office Executive Director Diane Shober said the most important thing to do now is to make sure that travelers know that Yellowstone has re-opened. Shober is hopeful that by the time the northern loop re-opens, people may not notice anything abnormal.
"I don't think that they will even realize where this flooding took place and so that's good news," said Shober. "The experience can still be the same and we have a responsibility to make sure that people who are planning their trips for July, August, September, that they know that they don't need to cancel."
Shober said Wyoming's small population makes it easier for the industry to bounce back because all of the stakeholders know each other and react quickly. She's optimistic that as long as people know Yellowstone is open, the industry will be fine.
"So we may not have the summer that we had hoped for this year, but we were poised to have an excellent summer. And so even if we still have a very good summer, that will still be a win in spite of this," she said.
Shober said they are getting the message out that Yellowstone is open and there are things to see on the way. The southern loop of the national park is now open with restricted access. Park officials say the northern loop will open in two weeks or less.