Thursday, May 06, 1999
Casino is bait; center is hook
Goal: Entice tourists to longer visit
BY RACHEL MELCER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LAWRENCEBURG — Gathered under a brightly colored tent during an open house at the Dearborn County visitor bureau Wednesday, tourism officials watched long lines of cars passing by on the way to Argosy Casino and Hotel.
And they plotted ways to lure them in.
Visitors spent more than $452 million in Dearborn County last year, and the tourism industry generated 3,308 jobs.
But most of the benefits are reaped by the casino and governments collecting gaming tax revenue.
The launch of the 3,000-square-foot visitors bureau at 555 E. Eads Parkway (U.S. 50), between Interstate 275 and Argosy, is designed to spread the wealth among Dearborn County's other towns and attractions. The center, previously open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, just extended its hours to include weekends, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
“We're starting to really showcase what our community has to offer,” said Debbie Smith, director of the Dearborn County Convention, Visi tor and Tourism Bureau. “This is really our opportunity to capture (riverboat visitors).”
The open house featured treats made by chefs from area restaurants. Paintings and crafts by members of the Southeastern Indiana Art Guild were displayed along with tidbits of local history. A variety of new tourism brochures, posters and maps were stacked all around.
“I think it's a good thing for the town — although oldsters like us like our town to stay the way it was when we were young ... slow-going and friendly,” said lifelong Lawrenceburg resident Frank Savage.
His wife, Ruth, was more excited by the change. She looks forward to a countywide revitalization.
State tourism officials see the new visitor center as a gateway to their state for people coming from Ohio and Kentucky. They are working on a variety of regional marketing efforts, from Internet-accessible vacation planners to advertisements in Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville media.
“Having a visible location like this when they first come into the state from Cincinnati is very important,” said John Goss, director of the state Department of Commerce Tourism Division. People from across the Tristate “are really waking up” to Southeastern Indiana, he said.
Argosy casino is already drawing record numbers of visitors and ranks among the region's top attractions. Nearly 640,000 cruise tickets were sold in March, the last month for which figures are available.
Tourism officials want to draw those visitors into other attractions, and to persuade them to stay overnight. While a person visiting the area for the day is likely to spend $49, a group of three staying 31/2 days will spend an average of $514, Mr. Goss said.
“The challenge is to get a lot more information in their hands and convince them that it would be a great time to take a getaway — including spending some time on the riverboat, but also taking in some other things,” he said. “I believe the area has no better opportunity than to invest in the tourism industry.”
Owners of area businesses are also excited. They are keeping a close eye on Lawrenceburg's plans to build a conference center and hotel in the city's historic downtown. And they are gearing up for coupon books, group advertisements and other cooperative marketing efforts.
“It's great,” said Tom Smith, who works for Excell Communications and just recently joined the chamber of commerce. “Any time you've got more people coming in, it can't hurt.”
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