The president of the group, Nort Johnson, says the share index measurement the formula the group uses shows a 7.22 percent increase in tourism over last year.Johnson says not every attraction is at that percentage but overall it was a good year, and he says they can't take all the credit for that.    Johnson says, "With regard to our season I have to give kudos to our firefighters who did a fantastic job keeping a dry, dangerous forest under control and allowing our businesses to enjoy a successful year. One bad fire could really slow things down and take that 7.22% right out of the equation."   Johnson says they plan to keep working at increasing those numbers next year and says they are ready for growth.

Tessa Thomas