THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 21, 1994 TAG: 9409200140
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY BILL REED, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
OCEANFRONT VISITORS coughed up a lot of cash and big tax dollars during last year's Neptune Festival, possibly surpassing spending over any other major holiday weekend in 1993.
An Old Dominion University economic impact study of the four-week fall celebration in 1993 shows that it pulled in $11.9 million in tourist spending at resort businesses and generated $386,828 in taxes.
An estimated 60 percent of that revenue came from the pockets of out-of-town visitors, the study shows.
The city's resort industry brings in an estimated $500 million in revenues each year and the Neptune Festival adds the final kick to the annual tourist season.
Festival leaders and city officials have long realized the pulling power of the celebration, both in terms of revenue and number of visitors.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf called the observance ``one of the top 10 festivals'' on the East Coast.
``Obviously over the last 21 years it has grown in strength and recognition,'' she said. ``It is something that was planned and nurtured and tended like you do in a garden and it has responded in a very positive fashion.''
``The Neptune Festival, and I say this with all humility, remains the biggest income producer of all the festivals,'' said Bill J. Center, festival president. ``Simply by age it has a broader scope of attendees and interest.''
But James B. Ricketts, director of the city's Department of Convention and Visitor Development, says measuring the festival with other major resort weekends of the year is like comparing ``apples and oranges.''
On holiday observances like the Fourth of July weekend, for instance: ``If we're full at the Beach, we're probably talking $9 million to $9.5 million,'' he said. ``The point is the (Neptune) festival's economic impact certainly is on a par with major holiday weekends. But there are two different criteria as to how you gauge that - on the Fourth of July we don't include any local spending.''
The festival, now in its 21st year, draws heavily from Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake and other Hampton Roads cities.
But the big spenders, despite their smaller numbers, are visitors from in-state cities such as Roanoke and Richmond and out-of staters from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, the study shows.
They drive or fly in to Hampton Roads, spend three or four days at Virginia Beach hotels and motels, eat at resort restaurants and spend at local shops and malls.
Out-of-towners, visiting with their families, are likely to spend $607 a trip to the Beach, while Hampton Roads residents average only $57 in spending per visit.
While they're at the Beach, out-of-towners tend to include trips to shopping malls, Waterside in Norfolk, Williamsburg, go fishing or head for a round or two of golf.
The study, conducted by ODU's Bureau of Research, College of Business and Administration, estimates that the 1993 Neptune celebration attracted 14,000 visitors from outside Hampton Roads compared to 315,000 locals.
The average income of out-of-towners was $54,000, or about 40 percent above the U.S. national average. The average local visitor, meanwhile, earned $35,000 a year.
The study was compiled from interviews conducted in person and by telephone in late September and early October 1993. ILLUSTRATION: File photo by DOUGLAS E. MAUME
File photo by DAVID B. HOLLINGSWORTH
ABOVE: Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker was the Grand Marshall of the
20th Neptune Festival. LEFT: Cathy Evans puts final touches on
2-year-old Quatasia Marigny of Virginia Beach.
File photo by DOUGLAS E. MAUME
Jason Griffith of Virginia Beach works a wave during the semifinals
of the surfing competition at last year's Neptune Festival. This
year's competition is Saturday and Sunday.
by CNB