THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 19, 1996 TAG: 9602170223
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TALK OF THE TOWN
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
When it comes to winning Northeast tourist dollars, Tidewater faces some tough competition.
``We're losing out to Orlando,'' said Samuel B. Rogers, Norfolk city marketing director.
He could easily add Myrtle Beach and Europe to the list of top draws for the tourist dollar. Hampton Roads' Top 10 competitors last summer were:
1) Myrtle Beach, 2) other Virginia locations, 3) Florida except Orlando, 4) Ocean City, Md., 5) Massachusetts, 6) Tennessee, 7) Ohio, 8) Orlando, 9) Europe, 10) Wildwood, N.J., and, if we were counting to 11), the Outer Banks.
That's according to The Virginia Waterfront, a regional tourism campaign launched by Norfolk. It surveyed Northeastern callers who last summer dialed the campaign's toll-free number (which was advertised from Pittsburgh to Washington).
On the tourist front, Orlando could move higher. Walt Disney World just opened Disney Institute for adults near Epcot Center. The new venture is along the lines of Chautauqua Institution, a summer retreat in rural New York that offers educational and cultural programs.
South Carolina, where tourism has surpassed textiles as the leading industry, also is thinking tourism. Gov. David Beasley wants $66 million in gasoline tax revenue transferred to the transportation department.
The cash would help upgrade inadequate coastal roads. Myrtle Beach alone had about 11 million visitors last year.
Rogers has proposed new initiatives for the Waterfront campaign. One element would have charter groups bring in tourists from throughout the nation for themed events. For example, ecological tours might be organized of Nauticus, the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore and First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach.
``We've got to get more people to the region,'' Rogers said, to make tourism a stronger element of economic development .
Family values: Bowling's hot. Which explains why the sophisticates at Goldman Sachs want in.
The sharp-eyed New York leveraged buyout artisan wants to spend at least $1 billion for AMF Bowling Inc., the bowling equipment-maker near Richmond. Goldman Sachs is ``unbelievably excited about this new industry they've come across,'' AMF president Bob Morin told International Bowling Industry Magazine.
``They see significant revenue and growth opportunities especially since bowling facilities are evolving from their old alley image into family-oriented entertainment centers,'' Morin said.
New Guard: Small airlines and their discount fares are attracting passengers away from the established hub-and-spoke carriers like USAir.
For example, AirTran Airways, which launched $79-$119 service from Norfolk to Orlando in October, is considering a Richmond flight.
The Orlando company started in '94 with a pair of airliners. Now it flies 10 126-seat Boeing 737s between 20 medium cities. by CNB