Tourism at the Lake of the Ozarks is thriving, despite the recent and tragic news of 3 deaths in one week near docks.

That’s according to members of the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

Tourists at the Lake of the Ozarks are being extra careful near docks after 2 Ashland children and a St. Louis area mother were recently electrocuted because of under water faulty wiring.  Terry and Brenda Young of St. Louis decided to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary at the lake this weekend.  The recent deaths have them thinking twice about swimming in the lake.

Brenda Young said, “We are avoiding the docks.  We wanted to do some jet skiing, but we decided not to just because of all of the recent deaths.”

Terry Young said, “I came down here to have a good time.  So, I plan to have a good time.  I don’t plan to get in the water, but I am going to have a good time.”

Officials with the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce said the 3 recent deaths have not had an impact on tourism this summer.  In fact, they say businesses are growing and more people are enjoying the lake.

Chamber officials said the 3 recent deaths were caused by older docks and do not affect most tourist areas.

Lake Area Chamber Board Member John Custer said, “Ameren UE and the local area have a lot of codes on the docks now.  Everybody is supposed to have ground faults.  I think it’s just some of the older docks that were built before that law got passed and don’t have them yet.  It’s an important thing for people who do have docks and don’t have the ground fault on there that they do switch over and get that put on.”

The recent hot, dry weather has been bad for farmers, but great for lake tourism.  Chamber officials are optimistic about tourism this summer and believe the lake’s economy has seen an upturn during the past 2 years.

Resort attendance is also up this year compared to last year.