Tourism on the upswing

By Hannah W. Wever

Published: October 16, 2008

By Hannah Wever
Review Staff Writer

The cloud of angst surrounding the floundering economy has a silver lining, it seems, when it comes to tourism in Orange County. Big city folks from further north near Washington D.C. are forgoing far-off getaways in favor of nearer destinations-like Orange. These travelers are taking what Orange County Director of Tourism Joe Ward calls “a trip on a tank.“
Ward said Orange has become increasingly popular for a mini-break destination which vacationers can reach in a relatively short time and for far less than airfare to elsewhere.
And he’s got numbers to back that up. At the end of last year, data collected by statewide tourism experts shows that Orange County had a 52.7 percent increase in tourism expenditures since 2003-earning it a ranking of fourth highest in the state.
“Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Richmond folks who may have originally wanted to get further away have decided to cut out early from work and come to Orange for the weekend.
Ward said. “I think it’s something we can maximize.“
Ward said Orange’s historic sites, wineries, galleries, antiques and B&Bs complement one another to make a very attractive package for potential tourists. And marketing this combination has been very successful, and will continue to be.
“I really think it’s a good target market for us,“ Ward said.
Through strategic partnerships between area draws like wineries, historic destinations and inns and B&Bs, Ward said the county tourism industry can continue to flourish and contribute to local economy.
The Inns at Montpelier, an alliance of nine inns and bed and breakfasts in a 15-mile radius of James Madison’s Montpelier, is catering to a valuable niche in the tourism industry by practicing “co-op-etition.“ These locally-owned hospitality and lodging businesses cooperate minimize the expense of aggressive marketing-like pricey advertising in washingtonian.com.
Mayhurst Inn owner and president of both the Inns at Montpelier and the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia Jack North said teaming up with the competition has been a worthwhile business decision.
“It’s definitely helped us out. We refer each other guests if we’re full,“ North explained. “We have access to a single calendar that has all our availabilities on it. We do a lot of joint marketing, and we work together to do special events like wine pairing dinners and pig roasts.“
“It’s a unique cooperative program,“ Ward said. Business owners realize they may not stand out on their own to a potential customer, he added, “but once you get those leads, you’re still going to compete.“
National recognition of wineries like Barboursville Vineyards and Horton Vineyards has helped the county stand out as a destination.
“People used to say ‘Barboursville Vineyard is just outside of Charlottesville,‘ “ but now the award-winning winery is associated with Orange County-and that’s significant.
“It’s a giant leap in terms of the awareness of the area,“ Ward said.
National media coverage of the herculean restoration projects at Montpelier has cast light on the county, too, Ward said. The recent unveiling of Montpelier as it appeared in Madison’s day attracted unprecedented numbers of broadcast and print media from around the country to Orange. And Jennifer Gullette, Montpelier’s media manager said visitation to the former home of Madison was on a steady increase leading up to September’s big event, and now, the number of visitors is “sky high.“
“You get millions of dollars in free publicity from something like that,“ Ward said. And that publicity pays off for businesses in the area, he added.
A relatively new marketing tool for the county’s tourism campaign has been the installation of virtual visitors centers in a number of strategic locations. Touch-screen machines dispense information about Orange County accommodations, dining, arts, entertainment, history, sports, culture-whatever. It’s an easy way to deliver a wealth of information, and perhaps heighten interest in attractions that a visitor may not have known about.
“If they’re on the kiosk, they may catch something on there that may make them want to stay a little longer instead of running off to Charlottesville, Fredericksburg or Culpeper,“ Ward said. “It seems to be working.“
Presently, the kiosks are up and running at the Orange train station/visitors center, at the Holiday Inn Express and at Montpelier. One should go in shortly at the visitors center at Zion Crossroads, and Ward said he’d like to place a few more in key locations, “to catch people who had completely intended on driving through Orange.“
Whether it’s the cooperation of the local lodging establishments, the virtual visitors centers or simply the area’s natural charm, something’s definitely working. North said at his B&B, guest numbers have been on a steady climb, regardless of an economic recession or record-high gas prices.
North gives much of the credit for his high guest bookings numbers to Montpelier’s rising star, but he predicted there’s more to come.
“[Tourism at] Montpelier is about to explode-and it already is,“ North said. But, he added, Orange needs to be ready for the increasing waves of tourism. Restaurants, gift shops and even public restrooms will be required to serve the tide of tourists the area should expect.
North predicted one-tank trips will continue to take the place of longer-distance destinations. And Orange will continue to attract suburbanites, history and nature enthusiasts.
Innkeeper at Holladay House B&B Sam Elswick agreed with North.
“Families and suburbanites are leaving their stressful environments and heading for the countryside, where they can appreciate a slower pace and beautiful scenery, while still enjoying the epicurean pleasures and luxurious amenities to which they are accustomed,“ Elswick explained. “Orange satisfies this need perfectly—we have wonderful wineries surrounding us, numerous fantastic restaurants and plenty of stuff to do in a weekend. Our area is perfect for all of this, and travelers from D.C. and Richmond can enjoy it all without completely emptying their wallets or enduring the complicated traveling conditions of airports or I-95.“
And besides the county’s perennial attractions, there are high-visibility draws coming up on Orange’s events calendar.
Next summer, the route for annual charity cycling event Bike Virginia comes right through Orange. The tour is still in the planning stages, but Ward said Orange can expect to host a couple thousand cyclists and spectators as the Bike Virginia tour passes through. The tour is sponsored in part by Journey Through Hallowed Ground and showcases history and scenery.
“That’s something that has a lot of visibility and will bring a lot to the community,“ Ward said. Some of the crowd drawn to Orange through Bike Virginia will be highly competitive cyclists, he added. “But others are there for the leisure aspects and they’ll want to see the sites.“
Already, there’s an immediate economic impact, Ward said. At the Holiday Inn Express, folks associated with the Bike Virginia event have reserved 20 rooms. Even better, the event promises a tremendous potential for greater economic impact and publicity, he added.
Tourism will be a major feature in Orange County’s future, Ward speculated, but the challenge is to capitalize on assets like Montpelier’s recent restoration efforts and grand unveiling.
“We need to keep that in people’s minds and continue to look for new angles and new ways to maximize all that been going on, and new ways to tell those stories,“ Ward said.
There’s already plenty to attract visitors to Orange, Ward said, but to truly create a special experience, the objective is to have them come and get more than they thought.

Tourism’s
economic impact
• Total tourism
  expenditures show a
  4.9 percent increase
  over last year
•Lodging tax paid for
  accommodations in
  Orange County was
  73 percent higher than
  last year, increasing
  from $25,480 to
  $44,073
•Food tax collected on
  meals eaten in Orange
  increased from last
  year by 26.1 percent,
  from $429,096 to
  $541,263
•Since 2003, tourism
  expenditures have
  increased by 52.7
  percent
•Orange County ranks
  fourth-highest in the
  Commonwealth for
  total tourism
  expenditures