THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607190454
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: 61 lines
The Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a series of tours this summer to enhance the lucrative tourism industry.
The tours, however, are for people who already live here.
``Before we attract tourists, we should educate our own people,'' said Jean Baker, chairman of a volunteer tourism committee at the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce. Baker is general manager of Adelphia Cable.
The tours, christened ``Be A Tourist In Your Own Backyard,'' continue Saturday at the Pasquotank Art Council Gallery on Main Street at 1 p.m. and will highlight local watercolor artist Dennis Lighthart.
Tours for residents began last month with a visit to the historical Episcopal Cemetery.
Baker came up with the idea to educate locals about their area's lore because of her experiences when she moved here from Florida two years ago. She was full of questions about the region and couldn't get many answers.
``Being new to the area, I wanted to find out more about it,'' she said. ``I found many people didn't know that much about where they live.''
For example, she asked several people where the name Albemarle came from.
``I got answers like, `It was a ship.' `It was a battle.' I don't know how many answers I got.''
Baker has since discovered that the Albemarle area encompasses 10 counties in Northeastern North Carolina. It is named for George Monck, the Duke of Albemarle, who was appointed by the King of England as one of the eight Lord's Proprietors of Carolina in 1663.
Baker said the tours train the area's greatest resource, ``its friendly people,'' to be better, more educated emissaries.
Next on the tour schedule is a trip to the Museum of the Albemarle, planned for Aug. 23 as a Family Fun Night. Special exhibits include ``World War II in the Albemarle: The Way to Victory'' and ``The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama: Applauding 60 Years.''
That evening, there will be guided tours through the museum including hands-on history lessons on the Algonquin Indians and Colonial children's toys of the 1700s. Visitors will be able to handle authentic weapons and tools while a guide talks about the Algonquin lifestyle. Children will be allowed to play with replicas of popular toys from 200 years ago such as cloth dolls and hoops and sticks.
The last event for the summer is a guided walking tour of Elizabeth City's Historic District on Sept. 21.
Tourism has become a significant industry in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County. Studies by the state Division of Travel and Tourism show that tourism in Pasquotank County generated an economic impact of nearly $26 million in 1995. Already in 1996, occupancy tax is up 17 percent over the first quarter in 1995.
The study showed that 390 jobs in Pasquotank County are directly related to tourism. Travel through the county generated $4.5 million in salaries here last year. And tax revenues from travel generated $1.9 million for the county and state in 1995.
Depending on its success, the ``Be A Tourist In Your Own Backyard'' program may continue year round, said LuAnne Pendergraft, tourism manager for the Chamber of Commerce.
``We're going to see how it goes,'' she said. ``Although folks have seen some of these things, things do change.'' by CNB