Originally published Monday, October 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Twilight fans boost tourism in Forks

Travel industry officials tell the Peninsula Daily News that tourism has generally done well in the region, due to people taking vacations closer to home because of high gas prices, but the best-selling vampire books by Stephanie Meyer have been especially good to Forks.

By The Associated Press

Amazing what rumors of having a few vampires in town will do for the local economy.

The draw of the "Twilight" series of novels about undead teenage heartthrobs that live in Forks has delivered a 48 percent increase in lodging tax revenue so far this year for the Olympic Peninsula town.

Travel industry officials tell the Peninsula Daily News that tourism has generally done well in the region, due to people taking vacations closer to home because of high gas prices, but the best-selling books by Stephanie Meyer have been especially good to Forks.

Fans of the vampire novels have been making the long drive to the isolated town to seek out the settings of their favorite characters — Isabella Swan, a mortal teenager who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen, as well as Jacob Black, a Quileute werewolf.

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