May 31^st, 2005

Busy tourism season anticipated

By Connie Cartmell, ccartmell@mariettatimes.com

Rebounding after a pounding from flooding in both September and January, with fewer tourists and visitors in town during fall and winter months, Marietta tourism officials are now hopeful the “ebbs and flows” will stabilize in summer.

“It feels like it could be pretty busy this summer. That’s just the general feeling,” said Kris Lenard, executive chef at Austyn’s Restaurant, 130 Front St. “With the floods and all last year, there’s just so many different opportunities now.”

This weekend kicks off the summer season, and hopes are high for a good season. Marietta needs a boost after a difficult past two years, and tourism can offer a major economic impact to the region.

“We’ve had a strong spring start in March, then April and May were back to normal,” Kelly Dyar, executive director of the Marietta/Washington County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said.

In a word, the goal is to energize downtown and the surrounding area tourist attractions with some new features and new activities.

“New activity downtown, new businesses and new things to discover energizes us and everyone,” Dyar said. “We have a large number of repeat visitors, and they are very pleased with the variety and diversity in Marietta.”

The big news downtown is that Fenton Art Glass plans to open a Fenton retail shop, at 104 Front St., former home of the Doll Showcase.

It’s the first Fenton store outside the Williamstown factory store. Fenton is usually the area’s biggest tourist draw.

“We are very excited about this,” Jena Lane Blair, centennial tour group coordinator, and Marietta resident, said. “Coming to Marietta hopefully will be a big boost to downtown. Marietta has been through so much turmoil with flooding and all.”

In addition to drawing visitors to downtown Marietta, the new Fenton glass store will be in a position to also guide tourists and local residents to the Fenton complex across the Ohio River in Williamstown.

“Being a native of Marietta,” Blair said. “I am always surprised at the number of people who haven’t experienced the factory tour. This is an amazing treasure in our own back yard.”

No opening date has been announced, but Blair said “soon.” Current plans are to be open through December, although she said it is hoped the Fenton store will be permanent in Marietta.

Figures for the city’s 5 percent tax on hotels and motels — commonly called the bed tax — indicate that 2004 was actually a better year than 2003, but it was a decline compared to figures for 2002. The bed tax is paid by guests at the area hotels, and the money is split between the visitors bureau and the city of Marietta.

According to the city auditor’s office in 2004, $384,471 was collected compared to $379,262 in 2003. In 2002, $393,760 was collected. So far this year, the numbers are looking up with $122,604 already collected in the first five months this year. March was huge with $31,403 collected. April’s collections were back to normal at $28,869.75.

One indicator of the number of tourists in the area is attendance at area museums, which was significantly down in 2004. Six thousand fewer people came through the doors of the Campus Martius and Ohio River museums in 2004 than in 2003. A total of 14,300 people visited the museums in 2004.

That’s down from more than 20,000 in 2003 and 25,897 in 2002. The reasons for museum attendance decline is attributed to the reduction in hours at the museum and the loss of tourists after the September flooding.

A 2003 study completed for the Ohio Department of Development indicated that tourism represented $186.1 million in tourist-related expenditures in Washington County. It also showed that tourism was directly or indirectly related to 3,500 jobs in the county.

Dyar said phone calls have been plentiful, most checking on downtown in wake of flooding. Recent articles about Marietta’s rebound, in Ohio Magazine and in Over the Back Fence magazine, have helped stir interest, she said.

“We’re feeling good about summer and are excited about all the activities planned,” she said. “Ohio Magazine featured our summer outdoor movies as something different and special. They are the fourth Saturday at the levee (free) and are family-oriented.”

One attraction changing its format this summer after a difficult season one year ago is the Valley Gem sternwheeler of Marietta. Katie Sands, wife of Valley Gem captain J.J. Sands, said charter business was great but the public business was off.

“It ended up being a good year for us, but trends turned out unexpectedly,” said Katie Sands, office manager. “As a result, we’ve radically changed our schedule this summer to offer more charters and fewer public tours.”

The new Valley Gem public tour schedule is 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday in June, July, and August, a change from last year’s tours every hour from 1 to 4 p.m.

“It allows us, after 30 years, to finally go around the (Buckley’s) island,” she said. “We’ve always just gone to the interstate bridge and turned around. It also allows us to do private luncheons with a cruise.”

Downtown merchants are feeling the upbeat as the first official weekend of the summer season arrives.

Because of the glass company’s 100th anniversary, Fenton may be an important catalyst to draw tourists to the city and region.

“There are just a lot of Fenton events and this year will be exceptional for Fenton and Marietta,” said Barbara Gammon, owner of Tin Rabbit Antiques, 204 Front St. “We’ll have a lot of people in town because of the Fenton anniversary.”

Blair said the new shop will carry Fenton glass, plus “a few surprises.”

A highlight for Gammon’s store this summer is a visit from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, July 21, from author John Walk, of Mulberry Grove, Ill., who has written nine books about Fenton glass and is considered the guru of this product.

“Everybody owns a John Walk,” Gammon said. “He’ll be signing his Fenton books, even the old ones.”