
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 17, 1990                   TAG: 9007170432
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

PLANT TOURS MAKE VA. FOR MORE THAN LOVERS

Think of Virginia's billion-dollar vacation industry and most people see beaches, mountain resorts and historical sites - not almond pound cake or nuclear fuel rods.

"The kids love it," said Cameron Foster, marketing and research director for Rowena's Wonderful Jam & Jelly Factory in downtown Norfolk, where the pound cake is a favorite treat at the end of the factory tour.

Rowena's is one of about a dozen Virginia industries that offer public tours to travelers who are looking for something different to spice up their vacations.

Another is the B&W Fuel Co. of Lynchburg, where groups that set up an appointment can spend two hours seeing how nuclear fuel rods are put together. It's not dangerous, either, said plant Manager Richard Alto, because radiation levels are low.

Earlier this month, the state released a new publication listing those tours and others designed primarily for business executives.

The "Directory of Technical Tour Opportunities in Virginia" from the state Division of Tourism resulted primarily from requests by foreign groups for study tours, said Sue Brinkerhoff Bland, the division's media relations manager.

The 27-page publication includes listings of available tour sites in the fields of agriculture, communications, education, finance, health care, manufacturing, real estate development, retail trade, transportation and utilities, plus sightseeing opportunities.

It is not intended primarily for vacationers. A large segment of the directory is printed in Japanese for corporate visitors from that country, and not every company listed is open to the casual tourist.

Patti May, a spokeswoman for the Rocco Inc. poultry processing plant near Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley, said tours can be arranged for student groups or business executives. But the company does not consider itself a tourist attraction, she said.

But some of the places listed in the publication offer tours to the public, either on a daily basis or with advance booking.

Alto said the nuclear fuel plant has been visited by a wide range of organizations, including school and church groups. "We really haven't been that selective" in arranging tours, he said.

by CNB