THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501210094
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 17 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Forecast '95
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Michael L. Bartlett, who got fired from one job and stormed out of another, always told us he wouldn't be staying long at Nauticus.
This time, his vision for the new attraction didn't match those of the National Maritime Center Authority.
Bartlett, who came in late in the game, thought the Hampton Roads Naval Museum didn't belong inside Nauticus, sources said.
And he wanted more interactive exhibits - kind of like a theme park with ships, sharks and shellfish.
It probably won't happen.
Bartlett, who stepped down as dirrector earlier this month, likely will be replaced with someone who doesn't have as much control.
City officials are tugging at the reins because Norfolk will have to pay $5.2 million to help the attraction.
The city is willing to pay because Nauticus is a crucial piece of the downtown puzzle and a boost to the entire region, city officials have said. The maritime attraction has benefited everything from gift shops to city hotels, they said.
What Nauticus needs is time, an economist said.
``It's a plus for tourism in the area,'' said Roy L. Pearson, director of the College of William and Mary's Bureau of Business Research. ``But it takes a while for people to really find out about an attraction.''
Nauticus hopes, in part, to benefit this year from an alliance with other regional attractions. Tourism directors across the region have recognized that their attractions are linked.
Visitors to Nauticus, for example, might be staying at the Oceanfront and spending a few days at Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg.
The Virginia Waterfront campaign is one way tourism officials hope to sell the entire region. The idea is to take several tourist attractions in Hampton Roads and market them as one big package.
This year, attracting loads of tourists may be more difficult, economists said.
``I'm hoping tourism will stay close to even, maybe a little behind,'' said economist David Garraty of Virginia Wesleyan College in Virginia Beach.
Tourism officials should watch how consumers react to the federal and state budgets this spring, said Pearson.
``I'm expecting slower growth, a little more uncertainty in the economy,'' he said. ``That's going to hurt consumer confidence a bit. They may make shorter trips or cut back.''
But, ``everytime I say that, the airlines have a price war,'' Pearson said.
Virginia Beach's Oceanfront had one of its best years in the summer of 1994, city officials said.
Oceanfront hotel occupancy rates over the summer dropped from 86 percent to 84 percent. Retail sales grew 4.5 percent, and restaurant sales citywide rose 3.6 percent.
What happened outside the United States has had an impact on the region's tourism industry.
When the Canadian dollar declined against U.S. currency, many of the French-Canadians famous for visiting the beach opted to stay home.
We have seen a drop in Canadian visitation,'' said Hester T. Waterfield, tourism marketing manager for the city Department of Convention and Visitor Development. ``It has has significant impact.''
While she can't change the U.S.-Canadian dollar rate, it's Waterfield's job to encourage the Canadians to return this summer.
``French Canadians still love to come to the beach,'' she said.
KEYWORDS: TOURISM NAUTICUS REGIONALISM by CNB