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

DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995                   TAG: 9508170002
SECTION: DISCOVER ROANOKE VALLEY                    PAGE: 26   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAURICE A. WILLIAMS III STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NEW SIGNS DIRECT VISITORS TO ROANOKE

There are two things visitors to the Roanoke Valley can be sure to encounter: the mountainous landscape and signs directing them to the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau. Recently, the bureau posted new signs on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which complement others on interstates leading to the area.

And they seem to be working. The bureau's visitors have increased 15 percent to 18 percent each of the last four years. Last year, 46,509 visitors to the Roanoke Valley came to the bureau and used its services.

"We exceeded our goal," said Catherine A. Fox, tourism development manager for the bureau. She said the center plans to put signs in the Roanoke Regional Airport.

Once they arrive at the center in downtown Roanoke, visitors can expect to find everything they need to plan their stay.

"We have a lot of information that people can pick up that's free to them," said Martha A. Mackey, the bureau's executive director. "We keep brochures about area attractions and what they do."

The center has received accreditation by the state division of tourism. It is the first time the Roanoke Valley center has received the honor, which is held by seven other centers.

The visitors bureau's image received a boost when it became accredited by the state division of tourism. The honor is held by seven other regional tourism bureaus in Virginia.

As the only visitors center in the Roanoke Valley, the bureau serves the cities of Roanoke and Salem, the counties of Franklin, Roanoke Botetourt and Bedford and the town of Vinton. Fox said the significance of the accreditation is that it involved regionalism.

"Each government agreed to be a part and see the valley - the community as a whole - be accredited," Fox said.

Mackey said visitors choose the area for different reasons, including Virginia's historical background, its landscape and as a stopover on the way to Florida. She said some visit the area when considering relocation.

"We have a lot of retirees that come to the area to look at the area to explore the possibility [of retirement]," Mackey said.

While there are many attractions in the Roanoke valley such as the Mill Mountain Zoo, the Virginia Museum of Transportation and the Roanoke City Market, Mackey said there is one that most travelers want to visit most.

"They like to see the Blue Ridge Parkway," Mackey said. That's a real big interest."

Other areas obtain their visitor figures from the number of people who pass through their airports and convention attendance. But, Mackey said, the Roanoke Valley center has a more personal approach. "We do it right down to the visitor. We click them in."

The center is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

by CNB