Bentonville Tourist Season Blooms In Spring

FILE PHOTO JASON IVESTER Walmart employees from China exit their buss outside the Walmart Visitors Center June 4 in downtown Bentonville.
FILE PHOTO JASON IVESTER Walmart employees from China exit their buss outside the Walmart Visitors Center June 4 in downtown Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- It won't be long before tourist buses will be regularly spotted by residents.

"You can liken the tourism season with the leaves," said John Lamparski, group tour sales manager at the Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau. "When the leaves start to turn, the buses and tourists come in."

At A Glance (w/logo)

Bus Parking

The one designated parking spot for tour buses is on Southeast A Street, next to the Bentonville/Bella Visita Chamber of Commerce office downtown. It’s marked with “Bus Loading” and white lines. Motorists are asked not to park there, especially during tourist season, which is just beginning.

Source: Staff Report

Tour groups start coming at the end of March and then steadily through April and May. Activity tapers off in June and July because of the heat and then picks up again toward the end of August and into September and October, Lamparski said.

"Just watch the leaves," he said.

The bureau has seen a dramatic increase in Bentonville tours since Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in November 2011. Prior to its opening, there were about five to 10 group tours a year. Since then, there's been 80 to 100 each year, according to Lamparski.

And those are just the ones the bureau has had contact with, he added.

Before 2011, the groups that came were from nearby states such Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas. Now, groups come as far as Indiana, Kansas and Illinois, Lamparski said. Last year, a group from California and another from Connecticut came, he said.

The bureau assists with building itineraries, booking hotels and making restaurant reservations.

"(Basically), give them ideas to fill up their day as much as possible so they can stay as many days as possible," he said.

Tours can range from a couple hours to two to four days. Groups can range from 25 to 53 people. Some groups may know each other, while others may not if the tour was sold to the general public, Lamparski said. The average group size is about 40 to 45 people. Demographics can range, but the largest is usually people 60 and older.

Each one of those people benefit the city by sleeping in its hotels, eating at its restaurants and shopping, Lamparski said.

They don't just experience Crystal Bridges when they come. They're given the city's history and directed to places to explore it, Lamparski said.

"They come, and they don't just see an attraction," he said. "They experience a city."

Tours can take time to book, and the success of a sale often comes from the relationship Lamparski is able to build with tour operators, he said.

Lamparski said he can talk with an operator for years before they come to Bentonville. Yet, once that relationship is established and a tour goes well, then it's likely it will happen again, he said.

He spoke of one tour that comes in April then again in May. Both do the same things -- stay in the same hotels, eat at the same restaurants.

"They'll come back again and again because it works and the tour sells," Lamparski said.

The trust factor is key when working with city representatives, said Patti Beth Anderson with Good to Go with Patti Beth, a tour company.

Anderson said she's been working with Lamparski for about six years and has offered tours to Northwest Arkansas for the nearly 20 years she's been in business.

Good To Go is based in Grove, Okla., and offers trips that range from day trips to nearby areas to international trips that last a couple of weeks.

Short trips highlight the great things "in our own backyard," Anderson said. She knows her clients, many retired baby boomers, could drive to Northwest Arkansas on their own so she relies on Lamparski to help make their trip special.

"They're buying an experience," she said.

Often times, it's the little things that make the difference, such as restaurants greeting the group on their message board outside of their door, Anderson said.

Things like that cost little to nothing for a business but are often photographed by tourists and put on social media, she said.

While there has been a buzz about Bentonville becoming a leisure destination, it still sees a strong showing of business travelers.

Tom Ginn, Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce vice president of economic development, said he speaks with more than 100 business travelers a year who have "good quality potential projects" that may come to the city. He interacts with many more who want information about the city.

Tourists and business travelers are similar in they are spending money in the city by staying in hotels and eating at restaurants though the purpose of their visit may be different, Ginn said.

A business traveler may do tourist activities, such as visit museums, and a tourist may find an opportunity to invest long term, such as retiring, investing money or finding something for sale, Ginn said.

"Each one of them has the chance to enhance the other," he said. "That's huge."

NW News on 03/23/2014

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