by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Jacksonville apparently has just about everything it needs to contend with Orlando as a top convention site in the state.
The only missing feature is the one the City can’t control. Location.
Gary Jones, with Play Fla. Golf in Gainesville, was pleased the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism was being held in Jacksonville. But he doubts it will happen very often.
“I guess this is the first nonresort destination we’ve gone to,” said Jones. “It’s much more convenient to go to Orlando, as the center of tourism in the state and as the center of the state.
“But it doesn’t matter if it’s Jacksonville or Pensacola or any of the four corners of the state. You’re going to get that same complaint from people.”
Hundreds of participants from the tourist industry and allied fields have been attending the three-day conference that ends today at the Adam’s Mark Hotel. Gov. Jeb Bush headlined the special session held Monday evening.
Some of the attendees might have had a bit of a drive, Jones conceded, “But for those of us who live in Gainesville, this is great. We like to show off northern Florida.
“We travel around the world promoting Florida as a golf destination, and it’s nice when people around the state get a chance to see what’s going on here.”
More visitors are starting to see what’s going on in Florida, and people in the tourism business are keeping their fingers crossed that the improvements will continue.
“We’re better this year than we were last year,” said Kathy Harper, director of communications for Jacksonville & the Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau, which sponsored the Monday breakfast. “But you have to take into account that last year was the worst one ever in tourism.
“We’re not back to pre-2001 levels, but we’re on the way.”
That improvement will continue “as long as things keep going the way that they are,” said Harper. “But you never know . . . if there’s another terrorist attack or the economy doesn’t pick up.
“There are factors kind of outside our control that could spoil our progress.”
At least one conventioneer felt enough stability has returned to warrant some optimism.
“Business has been good,” said Harvey Campbell, executive director of Columbia County’s Tourist Development Council. “We’ve been blessed, just like Jacksonville, in that the drive market continues to flourish at the expense of fly traffic.
“Gasoline prices have moderated, the Iraqi war [went] fairly quickly and the economy is, to some degree, a state of mind. The state of mind seems to be the economy is getting better.
“If we can continue, I think areas like Jacksonville and Lake City — those which are a whole lot more dependent on drive traffic — are back, and I think we’ll start seeing some increases instead of holding our own.”
Richard Weaver, who handles marketing for Amtrak Florida, has been to more than a few conventions and is glad they’re being held in different parts of the state. Even if it means a longer drive for him.
“I think the perception is that Orlando is leisure-driven,” said Weaver, who is based in Fort Lauderdale. “If you’re a businessman and you’ve been there for a meeting like this, you know they do a good job.
“It’s nice to leave Orlando and try some of the other locales of the state that have gleaming facilities. This facility [Adam’s Mark] is doing a nice job. It’s new, and different and it’s good. I’m glad to see us come here.”
Campbell suspects Jacksonville has the potential to contend as a top convention site.
“I think that Jacksonville has taken advantage of the fact that people are looking for something new and different,” he said. “While Orlando is and probably always will be thought of at the top of that list [of convention sites], I think people are looking for new experiences.
“Orlando tends to end up a bit in the been-there-done-that category.
“I think some of the work Jacksonville’s done, particularly with the golf interests and with its marketing as a whole, has portrayed itself as something new and different that maybe hasn’t been on the radar screen.”
Getting out of some old ruts also has given the region a push, Campbell said.
“I think the other thing that helps Jacksonville and many of us in Florida is we’ve quit getting bothered by those imaginary lines,” he said. “So when you partner Jacksonville with the beaches and the historic elements of St. Augustine and golf, it just gives people an additional reason to come to the area.”