Staunton tourism heats up

While the summer tourism picture is mixed across Virginia, strategic marketing and favorable Northeast publicity have helped Staunton to a strong tourism summer.

Attractions such as the American Shakespeare Center and Frontier Culture Museum reported a strong June, and the city’s tourist visitors center recorded a 14 percent spike in the number of visitors in June over the same month a year ago.

“Gas is lower, we have been pretty aggressive in our advertising and we’ve received good media coverage,” said Bill Hamilton, Staunton’s director of economic development.

Staunton advertised in Washington’s Metro Center in the spring, and is now putting banner ads in the Nissan Pavilion in Northern Virginia.

And just recently, the New York Post rated Staunton as one of the country’s top destinations for family vacations.

Hamilton said the Nissan Pavillon campaign is targeted at a younger audience.

“We have to keep advertising and promoting,” Hamilton said.

American Shakespeare Center Marketing Director Erik Curren said that attraction has seen more visitors from Washington and Northern Virginia.

Attendance at the theater was at 68 percent of capacity in June compared to 58 percent a year ago, Curren said.

Curren thinks promotion and the public’s tendency to take “staycations” — trips close to home — are contributing to the increase.

“People planning to fly this year are taking a driving trip,” he said. “Staunton is a more popular destination.”

Staunton’s Frontier Culture Museum finished the recent fiscal year with a 5-percent increase in the number of visitors, said marketing director Mike Sutton.

“It’s been relatively strong considering the economy,” he said.

In addition to out-of-state and Charlottesville and Richmond visitors, Sutton said the museum can look forward to an array of school field trips in the fall.

Waynesboro city Tourism Director Lianne Crookshanks said she expects a stronger autumn.

She said the fall leaf change is the peak season for Waynesboro’s tourism, but the summer bed-and-breakfast and motel traffic has been steady.

Across Virginia, the tourism picture is mixed, according to Tamra Talmadge-Anderson, public relations director for the Virginia Tourism Corp.

She said some destinations are up and others are down.

But Virginia’s location within a day’s drive from 60 percent of the U.S. population helps during a recession, she said.

And a statewide savings program on lodging and attractions launched earlier this year also has helped, Talmadge-Anderson said.

“A lot of travelers are looking for value,” she said.

Talmadge-Anderson said the real story will be revealed at the end of the year.

Tourism has a $19-billion annual economic impact on Virginia, she said.

“Tourism is a very important business for Virginia,” she said.