Tourism in Virginia is falling on harder times

RICHMOND

Summer vacation season may be several months away, but some Virginia tourism officials are already anticipating a decline in travel business in 2009.

In Virginia Beach, the state's largest travel draw, the tourism picture is mixed. Individual spending is up this year, while hotel bookings are down, said Jim Ricketts, director of the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Next year is going to be flat, and there's a lot of concern about that," Ricketts said.

Part of the slowdown will likely be the result of a larger national economic downturn, said tourism industry officials who attended a Richmond forum last week on the state of the industry. Other factors are the failure to spend enough money on marketing and tougher security that hinders foreign visitors, officials said.

Virginia has been steadily spending less money promoting itself to tourists, putting the state at a competitive disadvantage with other states that are boosting their promotional budgets, officials said.

Tourism is an $18.7 billion-a-year Virginia industry that attracts 36 million visitors annually, supports 210,000 jobs and generates $1.2 billion in state and local taxes, Virginia Tourism Corporation President Alisa Bailey told Virginia Chamber of Commerce members last week.

Yet the agency's state budget appropriation has declined steadily. As recently as 2001, the state was spending $21 million on tourism. In the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, about $14 million is being spent.

That's less than the $25 million budget of the Beach tourism agency, which is funded with a portion of some local taxes and other city funds.

With more cuts expected to balance the state budget in these weak economic times, Virginia tourism could see more funding cuts.

"If we were a company making cars, we would be the Porsche," Bailey said. "We actually have a Porsche out in the driveway. U nfortunately, we haven't got any gas for it. We've got the ocean, the Chesapeake Bay, the beautiful mountains. Really, Virginia is a gem in the United States."

The vast corners of America are sights to be seen, too, though conveying that message to foreigners can be difficult, Travel Industry Association President Roger Dow said during the Richmond forum.

While international travel continues to grow, America's market share has not enjoyed a proportionate increase. It's a trend that Dow attributes to the sometimes long delay to get an American visitor's visa.

Entry into America has been more restrictive since Sept. 11, U.S. State Department officials concede, but those precautions have been instituted in the name of security.

Dow and fellow tourism advocates are pushing passage of federal legislation to promote and enhance travel to America from other countries.

"When people come to this country, they're 74 percent more likely to feel very good about America, Americans and American policy," Dow said.

It's also good for business, he said.

Consider this, Dow said: Tourism accounts for $740 billion in the national economy, is a top 5 industry in every state and is linked to one in every eight American jobs.

Tourism employees are more than just the "hamburger flippers and ticket takers" some assume they are, he said. "This business has such long tentacles and is so vital to our economy."

Julian Walker, (804) 697-1564, julian.walker@pilotonline.com