Thursday, February 10, 2000
Tristate tourism set record in '99
Downside: Convention impact off
BY CLIFF PEALE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
New thrill rides at Paramount's Kings Island, the $40 million Newport Aquarium and the debut of two manatees at the Cincinnati Zoo helped bring nearly 5 million tourists to the Tristate last year.
New figures released Wednesday by the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau show an estimated 4.9 million visitors — those attend ing conventions and leisure travelers — generated a $3.3 billion impact on the Tristate economy last year.
It's the most visitors ever recorded in the Tristate, and the most money out-of-towners have spent at hotels, restaurants, stores and attractions.
The big three Tristate attractions: Kings Island, the Reds and the zoo, officials said.
Tourism officials expect the numbers to grow this year. A major reason: Kings Island in Warren County will add the Son of Beast roller coaster, part of a $40 million capital investment there.
The bureau said that through its advertising efforts, hotel room nights for tourists increased 27 percent to 262,704 in 1999, compared with 1998, while direct spending by leisure travelers jumped 6.5 percent to a record $55.9 million.
Joan Kaup, vice president of tourism at the bureau, credited new attractions like the Newport Aquarium, added features at the Cincinnati Zoo and Kings Island, and special events like Tall Stacks.
Kings Island will add a direct entrance to its water park area for season-pass holders this year and still has more than 300 acres left to develop.
“First of all, we did have some terrific new product,” Ms. Kaup said. “And we also got a little smarter with how to market it all.”
A “Family Fun Adventure Package” started last summer offered three nights in a hotel and tickets to the zoo, Kings Island and a Reds game for $399, she said.
On hte other hand, the annual results show the stagnant state of Cincinnati's convention business.
At the bureau's annual meeting today, officials are expected to continue to push for expanding the Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center, downtown, arguing that convention delegates bring millions of dollars into the region every year.
The numbers of meetings and conventions fell 6.6 percent to 669, while the number of room nights at hotels also decreased.
But the total attendance at those meetings and conventions increased 12.1 percent to 363,299, while the direct spending jumped 11.9 percent to $312 million.
Operators of hotels and restaurants in downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have called expansion of the Sabin Center the only factor that could significantly increase their business.
But support for a $400 million plan to more than double the size of the center by extending it west over Interstate 75 has faded, and city of Cincinnati officials are actively considering cutting the proposed expansion to make it less expensive.
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