Visitors

(This is a continuation of reflections on the day long economic development workshop. See previous post “Kissing Toads” for details)

No discussion of economic development is complete without addressing tourism.  Conceptually, this is an ideal industry. People visit, spend money, and leave to educate their children and grow old elsewhere. As with many things, the devil is in the details.

Why tourism? Matt Ryan, Goochland’s Director of Economic Development, often says that “you never know who is standing on the sidelines of a soccer tournament at Strikers’ Park. It might be CEO of a company in Northern Virginia looking for a new location for his business who never heard of Goochland.”  It is a “soft” way to market the county and generate returns.

 

Goochland's beauty is an economic resource.

Goochland already has tourism. From the grandeur of the Dover Hall castle to the more rustic charms of Westview on the James, people visit Goochland for recreation. The new Hardywood Park Craft Brewery in West Creek (https://hardywood.com/visit-us/westcreek/)  that opened last spring is but one of several local enterprises that regularly attract guests to the county.

Budesky touted Field Day of the Past, the Deep Run Horse Show, and the Rassawek festival as events that bring many thousands of out-of-towners to Goochland each year. The LL Bean Discovery School entices folks visiting its Short Pump mall store to enjoy the James River at Tucker Park.  Thousands of people attend soccer tournaments  in West Creek.

Connecting those visitors with opportunities to spend money at restaurants, our potpourri of potent potable venues, the gift shop at the Historical Society, or other local emporiums, is the goal. Promoting local attractions can boost the bottom line of local businesses and enhance the perception of Goochland.

Goochland Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bonnie Creasy suggested that tourism phone apps are a good way to make visitors aware of what an area has to offer. The rub is, as with all tourism initiatives, is who oversees the outreach activity, which attractions are included, who updates the app, and how is that funded? A few years back, someone, perhaps the Chamber, created a beautiful color brochure about county attractions that was soon obsolete.

The Goochland Historical Society recently completed a restoration of the old stone jail and placed informational markers on the Courthouse green. There are many homes of historical interest in the county, but most are privately owned. Tuckahoe Planation on River Road is open for tours only by appointment, but there are self-guided tours of the gardens and grounds.

Wedding venues are sprouting all over the county. They give wedding guests a taste of Goochland that hopefully will bring them back.

While there was much discussion  about tourism opportunities, there was no mention of protecting the peace and privacy of those who moved to Goochland to get away from crowds.

For instance, when the notion of a rural farm brewery first appeared, it seemed like a great idea. When neighbors found their yards choked with dust from streams of cars and their fenceposts used as urinals, not so much. Those in the western part of the county never expected to find a wedding venue, complete with amplified music, disturbing their lives.

Agritourism was also touted as a great way to showcase Goochland. However, close neighbors should have some notice and say about the possibility of a gaggle of strangers invited to, for example, workshops on raising chickens or beekeeping, before the fact.

Kerfuffles between neighbors and breweries and wedding venues were worked out after a great deal of heartache. A mechanism to avoid this at the outset, with clear sanctions for violations, before the fact to protect the interests of all involved.

Productive preemptive dialog among all sides is preferable to conflict. Property rights of all must be protected. Community meetings to iron wrinkles out of proposed land use changes are a good way to accomplish this.

Though touted as an income generator, there is a cost to tourism. There was no discussion of a cost/benefit analysis or, one of Peterson’s favorite themes, return on investment.

Tubing the James in Goochland is a popular summer activity. Signs are posted at departure points with approximate times to move from Westview to Maidens. Each year, people call 911 when they realize the trip is far longer than expected. Fire-rescue personnel, more often paid employees than volunteers, are dispatched to get  them off of the water. Who should pick up the tab for this?

Goochland has breweries, wineries, and a cidery. There have been complaints about what some consider over zealous enforcement of DUI laws near these establishments. Driving on our narrow, winding roads can be challenging for people familiar with the territory in daylight, when stone cold sober.  How to discourage visitors who may have over enthusiastically indulged without making our roads more dangerous, needs to be addressed. This could be an opportunity for local limousine companies to offer something like a  “potent potables pilgrimage” that picks up folks at a hotel, drives them from place to place, and returns them to their lodging so they can recover before hitting the road.

Cyclists visit Goochland in ever greater numbers. Peterson said that adding bike lanes to our roads would reduce the amount of funds that VDOT would allocate to maintenance. West Creek Parkway seems to be a favorite haunt of cyclists, especially on weekends. It would be nice if there were some way to encourage, if not mandate, that they wear brightly colored clothing to make them very visible to drivers. They come, ride around the county, and leave to eat, drink, and service their equipment elsewhere.

There was general agreement that Goochland needs a visitor’s center, but no consensus on its ideal location. Indeed, the notion of a  “gateway” to Goochland seemed vague. Some contend that it should be on Rt. 6, some Broad Street Road, Courthouse Village, or maybe River Road. The Henrico/Goochland line at both Broad Street Road and Rt. 6 are congested and commercialized. It is doubtful that River Road residents would welcome strangers stopping in that corridor.

Courthouse Village is the county seat, but it can be hard to find. Would a visitor’s center on the Courthouse Green attract enough people to justify the expense of staffing it, and who would pay for that?

District 3 Supervisor John Lumpkins, Jr. mentioned the  variety of reasons people visit Goochland including historic sites; recreational opportunities; and scenic beauty. “How do we keep people here after they’re done on the River?” he asked.  County government he contended, is just the catalyst. Goochland needs to leverage its assets, and avoid “Mickey Mouse attempts to create fake venues.”

Measuring the impact of tourism in a meaningful way is tricky. Ryan said that hotel stays, a measure typically used to track tourism, doesn’t apply in Goochland, because we do not yet have any hotels. Anecdotal information, like Wawa selling out of cold drinks during soccer tournament, suggests that there is a lot of missed opportunity.

Creation of a central calendar, contended Budesky, to avoid event conflicts is badly needed. Far too often, groups schedule events without regard to what else might be taking place at the same time. People must choose, which reduces attendance. Better scheduling would avoid this and bolster attendance—and success—across the board.

Who would maintain and publish this calendar is another unanswered question.

Tourism has the potential to enhance Goochland’s economy from one end to the other without destroying the rural character. But, it must be done well and respect the peace and privacy of county residents.

The June 27 workshop was the start of what will be an ongoing conversation.