ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 1997 TAG: 9701070017
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: ECONOMIC FORECAST
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
The forecast for 1997 is sunny, but it won't be a vacation for those in the tourism business, according to a top industry official.
"As long as gas prices remain competitive, it's still going to be a strong '97," said Bob Ramsey, chief executive of the Virginia Hospitality & Travel Association in Richmond.
But hotels, restaurants and attractions will have to hunt for workers at a time of labor shortage. Operators will pay more for those workers, thanks to a higher minimum wage. And they may struggle to keep some customers if a proposed indoor-smoking ban takes effect, Ramsey said.
The industry employs one of every 18 Virginia workers and contributes nearly $10 billion to the state's economy. Traveler spending is the third-largest of the state's industries, behind food and auto sales; it represents $1 of every $5 of Virginia's retail sales.
The forecast for Roanoke tourism is in line with that for the state.
"We'll see an a slight increase in '97, and by '98 I think we'll see a dramatic increase," said Beth Poff, president of the board of directors of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The bureau thinks it can attract more tourists with better marketing in 1998, Poff said. Officials want to see local businesses cooperate to build vacation packages. A package for a family might include a discount hotel room, passes to an attraction with appeal for the kids and free dessert at a restaurant, Poff said.
The bureau also wants to try harder to get the convention business. It is competing for meetings of Mid-Atlantic organizations such as professional groups whose sessions draw the number of delegates that can fit in one or at most several hotels. Poff said the region won't turn down national meetings, but spreading large numbers of people among several hotels is less desirable to the groups and to the hotels.
Finally, officials want to do a better job of promoting the Roanoke area's outdoor activities. The three steps, if successful, could draw significantly more tourists in 1998, Poff said.
Adding to the appeal for outdoor lovers, a new road is scheduled by October to link Explore Park in Roanoke County to the Blue Ridge Parkway. That's assuming the project can be finished ahead of schedule, and officials think it can. And if predictions come true, visitors will be able to eat a sit-down meal in the Brugh Tavern restaurant at Explore Park and get acquainted with the park by watching a video at a new visitor center.
One of the area's popular attractions said it sees no reason its business will not grow in 1997 as much as last year. Chateau Morrisette Winery on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd County said 60,000 visitors dropped by in 1996, up 20 percent for the year, according to its best estimate; an exact count is not kept.
"Our average visitor would be someone who lives within about 90 to 120 miles and is coming up for the afternoon in the mountains and visits us while they are doing it," said winemaker Bob Burgin.
Traffic counts were down late last year on the stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway that passes Roanoke. The October 1996 estimate, the latest available, was 112,449 vehicles; a year earlier the count was 126,821, down 11 percent.
The Peaks of Otter Lodge had a better 1996 than 1995, said reservation manager Angie Mann. She said the 63-room hotel and restaurant did a somewhat brisker business.
As for 1997, "I'd say it's going to be as good or better. My reservations are a little bit ahead of last year," she said.
The Booker T. Washington National Monument in Franklin County received 26,000 visitors during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 1996, compared with 27,500 in the 1995 period, down 5 percent, said spokeswoman Qefiri Colbert. One reason the number of visitors could go up in 1997, Colbert said, is because the monument's lessons on Virginia slavery, reconstruction, segregation and Jim Crow laws became required learning for students in 1996.
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