DATE: Tuesday, April 15, 1997               TAG: 9704150253

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   47 lines

NORFOLK HOTEL ROOMS FILLING UP IN 1997 NICHE MARKETING AND AGGRESSIVE APPROACH HELPS CITY BOLSTER TOURISM.

The city's tourism office has expanded and restructured to aggressively seek sporting events, group tours and corporate business.

The goal is to increase visitation to Norfolk and tap into growing niche markets.

``Norfolk is experiencing a tremendous growth in the tourism industry,'' said Sam Rogers, marketing and communications director.

In the first three months of the year, Norfolk more than doubled last year's first-quarter hotel bookings. With 33,700 room nights for the quarter, the city is one-third of the way to its 1997 goal of 101,000. Group tours accounted for close to 5,000 bookings - half the annual goal.

Rogers points to large-scale, downtown projects - such as the $300 million MacArthur Center mall, now under construction, and Hilton's plan to build a 13-story, 200-plus suite hotel - to continue fueling the growth.

A major component of the Norfolk Convention and Visitors Bureau restructuring was the hiring of former Old Dominion University basketball star and Marriott sales manager Bill Mann. His charge is to promote Norfolk and the region as a mecca for amateur and professional sporting events.

``We have the facilities and the climate to attract a wide range of events - and are already going so,'' Mann said. ``The opportunities are unlimited.''

Sporting events already booked range from the only East Coast appearance of the Unlimited Hydroplane Racing Association's 1997 Thunder Tour to the annual World Invitational Double Dutch Championship.

The city also hired two marketing specialists to target business and group leisure travelers.

While Norfolk already does a significant meeting business, new areas will be tapped. Shareholder meetings, product roll-outs for pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies and maritime industry gatherings are among the possibilities.

``Business meetings is a good market to develop,'' Rogers said. ``It's higher-rated business. They come in larger sizes and spend a considerable amount on food, beverage and entertainment.''

As for group tours, a new emphasis will be on reaching groups that sign up for tours, in addition to tour operators themselves.

Traditionally, only 20 percent of the travelers on a group tour have been pre-formed groups booking tours together. Today, they make up 80 percent of group travelers. KEYWORDS: TOURISM NORFOLK

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