Turbulent economy hurting local tourism; convention center hotel may help

Nov 24, 2008 (The Macon Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- MAR | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Two recent conventions slated for the Macon area provide a telling snapshot of the state of local tourism these days.

On one hand, about 5,000 middle schoolers from across the state attended the Georgia Junior Beta Club meeting at the Macon Coliseum this past Thursday and Friday, having an estimated $2.3 million impact on the local economy.

But last month, a 600-member national American Legion conference that was scheduled to take place here was canceled when the local hotel was unable to meet the needs of the conventioneers.

Janice Marshall, president and CEO of the Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the Macon area has weathered some of the tourism problems plaguing the rest of the country as a result of the economic downturn.

"Much of it is what we are seeing happen to every business," she said. "We predicted the economy would have an impact, but it's something you can't really control."

Marshall and other CVB officials are hopeful that the new Marriott City Center Hotel, scheduled to open in September, will provide a big boost to Macon tourism revenues by providing another convention venue in town.

In the meantime, Marshall said, tourism in Macon will try to hold its own during this trying economy.

The good news, Marshall said, is that overall tourism revenue managed to hold its own through the end of fiscal 2008, dropping just 2 percent overall. By comparison, Atlanta was down 14 percent, and Savannah's tourism revenues dropped 6 percent for the same period.

For the 2007 calendar year, Macon fared better. The city's hotel-motel occupancy rate was only down 0.7 percent, CVB officials said. Nationally, occupancy rates were down 5.9 percent for the same period.

At the statewide Governor's Tourism Conference this year, a report from Smith Travel Research listed the occupancy rate for the Macon-Warner Robins area down 6 percent from January through June. However, officials from the CVB noted that by including data through September, Macon, not including Warner Robins, is down just 0.5 percent.

Given the economy and the fluctuating fuel prices for most of the year, including key travel months, Marshall said things could have been a lot worse for Macon.

"We have reason to be optimistic about tourism revenue in Macon," Marshall said. "But it won't happen until late 2009. We'll be fortunate to keep (the general numbers) flat like it was" in the last fiscal year.

On the flip side, high gas prices in the summer and the lackluster economy led to less summer travel nationally. From July through September, Marshall said, traffic to both CVB visitors centers in Bibb County was down 14 percent.

In addition, convention business was down about 33 percent during the same time period. Another problem the CVB encountered this year was that it couldn't reach an agreement with the Macon Transit Authority about the use of the Mitsi bus that ran a route designed to showcase the city's highlights for tourists. The CVB was also unable to work out a deal with NewTown Macon about one of the two trolley-style buses it owns.

"It was part of a trolley tour that was perfect for tourists," she said. "We couldn't come up with any agreement. We hope in the next fiscal year it might be re-established."

While it might not be a magic bullet, tourism officials are holding out great hope for the Marriott, which will open next door to the Wilson Convention Center near downtown. Meanwhile, several hotels along Interstates 75 and 475 are being built or renovated.

"We expect to have 1,000 new hotel rooms (next year), and they are sorely needed," Marshall said.

Macon's central location and size is what has drawn conventions such as the Junior Beta Club on an annual basis.

"The (Marriott) is going to help, because every hotel room in the city is rented out," said Theron McCranie, a Beta Club sponsor with Dodge County Middle School who helped organize this year's convention. "We've had to have people stay in Forsyth and Perry because there weren't enough rooms. ... I've been bringing a group to this since 1988. There are 260 of us in 76 motel rooms. When we leave this year, we're already booked for next year."

McCranie said that in previous years, some National Beta Club members have tried to move the Junior Beta Club convention to Atlanta, but the state group has resisted that because it prefers Macon's smaller size.

"The reason we want to keep it here is because these are middle schoolers, and we don't want to take them to a large city like Atlanta," he said. "We feel it its more secure and the logistics are easier. ... With the restaurants and motels here, it's the best choice."

Marshall said while the Macon Coliseum and Wilson Convention Center are ideal for larger conferences such as the Junior Beta Club or the Georgia Baptist Convention, the area also needs smaller meeting places for other types of conferences. In addition to the Marriott, Marshall said Macon State College is nearing completion of a high-tech convention center near its campus that will be ideally suited for education and business conferences.

Albert Abrams, vice president of external affairs at Macon State, said the school is still finalizing its plans for the convention center, which is part of a 100,000-square-foot new professional sciences building.

"We're going to make it available to the public," Abrams said. "We're planning on hosting groups from other schools around the state. We're still formalizing the business model. We'll probably start pushing it out there in early February. We're using the term 'technology rich' to describe it. It has all the latest technology on the market."

Also, Marshall said, a conference by the Midwest Travel Writers Association next March could be a huge long-term benefit to area tourism. About 50 travel writers for national publications will be staying in Macon during the 2009 Cherry Blossom Festival.

"It's the first time they are meeting in Georgia," Marshall said. "Knowing that Savannah has built its reputation on tourism, this could be a huge benefit for Macon, providing they have a great experience."

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.

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