THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140009
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 44 lines
A planned one-ticket tour of 14 major museums and historic attractions in Portsmouth and Norfolk - boat and trolley transportation included - should be a powerful tourist attraction.
It also could prove useful to local residents when relatives or friends come to visit.
The tour already has a catchy name: ``A Trail of Two Cities.''
Last week, two organizations of business leaders, the Greater Norfolk Corp. and the Portsmouth Partnership, agreed to work together on detailed plans for the tour.
One-ticket mini-tours focusing on a specific subject like art, the military or history in the two cities might also be provided.
Ideally, the one-ticket tour could be expanded to other cities later.
Someday, a one-ticket water tour of Hampton Roads, leading all the way to Williamsburg, could be a major tourist attraction.
Yes, the potential for regional one-ticket tours is tremendous.
Certainly such tours have been successful in many European nations and cities.
The idea for ``A Trail of Two Cities'' came from Ray Gindroz, a Pittsburgh-based planner working with both Portsmouth and Norfolk. ``By combining and putting together attractions in both cities with the added interest of the water,'' he said, ``there is enough stuff to be attractive.''
Among the eight attractions on the Norfolk side would be the Chrysler Museum; Nauticus, the National Maritime Center; and the Moses-Myers House, near Scope. The six Portsmouth attractions would include the Children's Museum, the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Naval Shipyard Museum of Portsmouth.
Staff writer Ida Kay Jordan reported that the project would include an informational kiosk about Norfolk on the Portsmouth waterfront and a kiosk about Portsmouth on the Norfolk side. ``A video on the ferry could tell people about each city as they rode the boat toward the city,'' Gindroz said.
Presumably a ticket holder could do parts of the tour on different days, if need be.
Both business organizations reportedly are excited about putting the tour together. It's worth being excited about.