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And So It Is Written: The Halloween Season Shall Begin in Early September

September 7, 2008 at 2:35 PM | by | Comments (0)

In the eyes of most retailers, the Christmas season begins on Black Friday - the day after Thanksgiving - when, unless you hate America, you're supposed to go shopping. The Thanksgiving season, meanwhile, kicks off on November 1, just as the Halloween decorations are put away for another year. But when does the Halloween season begin? It is a big enough holiday to spread out over an entire month, or perhaps longer? We don't think so, but plenty of people in the tourism industry do.

As the AP points out, the latest "tourism trend" involves Halloween-related events starting on the heels of Labor Day, giving consumers nearly eight weeks to visit haunted houses, attend costume balls, and even quaff a few Halloween beers.

At Walt Disney World, for example, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party begins on September 5, with the cast of characters donning vaguely menacing outfits designed to reflect the holiday without giving the wee ones nightmares. The Illinois Bureau of Tourism goes one further, deeming the two-month period a "fifth season" that they call Fall-O-Ween.

North Carolina's Outer Banks region, meanwhile, uses the Halloween halo to highlight its reputation as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" and encourage people to check out its haunted houses and pirate museums. And if you need a beverage to get into the Halloween spirit when it's still 85 degrees outside, drop by the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio for a pint of Nosferatu, a red ale with a serious alcohol kick.

If the marketing gurus think this is the best way to wring extra revenue out of a traditionally slow period for travel, then more power to them. We would advise them, however, not to overlook Oktoberfest, which, as far as we're concerned, should last the whole year round.

Related Stories:
· Tourism Trend: Halloween is Now Its Own Season [AP/Yahoo! News]
· Halloween Coverage [Jaunted]

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