Tourism is up at Virginia’s historic sites, despite fears that a weak economy and high gas prices would deter people from visiting the area’s attractions.

Mount Vernon is witnessing a 9 percent rise in visitors this year compared with last year. That recent popularity — 677,361 total visitors from January to June — perhaps stems from a savvy move by administrators of George Washington’s home, who have reaped the benefits of a major movie tie-in.

The 2007 film “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets” included a scene in the basement of the historic house, and in January Mount Vernon created a walking tour based on the movie.

“We were anticipating just running it for one month, in March” said Emily Coleman Dibella, director of public affairs for Mount Vernon. But the tour became a huge hit, and administrators decided to keep running it until the hype wears off.

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Mount Vernon still offers the behind-the-scenes tour four times a day.

Despite gas prices hitting $4 a gallon, Dibella said, “We had people who said that they drove hours just to see the tour.”

At Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown, tourism is up 3 percent compared with 2006.

Fewer people have visited the sites since last year’s 400th anniversary celebration, which was highly promoted and drew a record 532,701 visitors from January through June.

But compared with the average year, visitation numbers have grown steadily to 368,944 people this year, said Debby Padgett, a spokeswoman for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

Although Colonial Williamsburg does not release its tourism numbers until the end of the year, a spokesman said visitation seems weak this summer.

“Summer is usually one of our most popular times,” said Tom Shrout, director of public affairs at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “But it’s been soft and flat over the past few weeks.”

To counter its perceived drop in tourism, the foundation has developed marketing and promotional strategies to improve attendance. Colonial Williamsburg touts its “One Tank Trip,” marketed to tourists in neighboring states.

The promotion promises visitors weeklong parking and local transportation on natural gas-powered buses.