Dale Venturini is president of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association. She spoke with Providence Business News recently about how the state’s tourism industry is preparing for this summer.
PBN: What sort of tourist season do you expect this summer?
VENTURINI: We’re looking forward to a great season. If we have weather like we had last year, it will be wonderful. People have been hearing predictions of doom and gloom these past six months. They’re pent up. Now they want to get out there and vacation and we’re ready for them.
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PBN: How is the state’s tourism and hospitality association preparing for the upcoming season?
VENTURINI: The most important thing is creating value for the customer. A lot of groups are partnering together to do just that. When times are tough, it forces people to get together and be creative, and to find partners they may not have worked with before. For example, we have a restaurant week, or this year some places are extending it to two weeks, where restaurants put a prefixed price on your meal, to attract people staying at hotels. You might not go to a premium restaurant otherwise, but with this kind of deal, you will. The State of Rhode Island’s Division of Tourism – the agency responsible for leisure travel – is putting together a new Web site, and working with groups around the state to ensure people who use the Internet to plan their vacation are provided with one-stop shopping. No matter which regional site you visit, you’ll find you can click on a state logo, and go to the state site. And from there, you can find out what’s happening in every area of the state. This year, tourism organizations expect to get more tourists from close to home, from within the state or within 100 to 150 miles. People who are watching gas prices will still be able to drive that far. And people are going to vacation no matter what.
PBN: What are your members doing new this year to draw visitors in a stagnant economy?
VENTURINI: With the gas prices where they are, we’re reminding people that if they visit Providence or Newport, they’ll find these are walkable cities. You can park your car, and walk from one attraction to the next. Stay at a hotel, and there are plenty of great restaurants you can walk to, or museums, or theaters. It’s something we usually pitch to convention visitors, but this year we’re getting the message out to leisure travelers as well. Park the car, and walk around. It’s healthy.
PBN: Weather forecasts can keep tourists away – how does the tourism industry prepare for that?
VENTURINI: If people hear a forecaster say the weekend weather will not be great, sometimes we’ll see cancellations, especially in Newport. But there are so many opportunities for fun and excitement besides the beach, and the hotels are prepared to direct you to these options. There are restaurants, museums, theaters, the Newport mansions, shopping. The opportunities are endless. We call summer rain “liquid sunshine” because there’s still plenty of enjoyment for vacationers. The only thing you can’t do is hang out at the beach. And don’t forget, not everyone who comes to Rhode Island is heading for the beach; though I do think we have some of the best in the country.
PBN: WaterFire events in downtown Providence have to be one of the state’s most popular attractions, but the traffic can be impossible. What can be done about that?
VENTURINI: Sometimes when something is this successful, it’s going to create traffic. But you can avoid it by using one of the many outlying parking areas, and walking from there to the event. It can be fun to walk through the crowd. You’ll bump into people you know, and you’ll actually see more of WaterFire. In this state, we’re used to parking right at the door, but with an event like WaterFire, people have to recognize they may have to walk – but that can be half the adventure.
PBN: The association has helped launch a training program for taxi drivers at T.F. Green Airport. Tell us about that.
VENTURINI: There has been a training program at the airport, in partnership with the Providence Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau. They were actually the lead agency. We trained about 65 drivers, and it was a phenomenal program. We also provided the drivers with literature. The drivers understand that they are the first people you meet when you visit our state, and this makes them ambassadors. Now there are plans being made for more programs in Providence and Newport.
PBN: Do you hear complaints about the motorcyclists who sometimes gather on Providence’s Thayer Street and other downtown areas? Are people bothered by the noise?
VENTURINI: There may be some concerns about noise. But the motorcycles I’ve seen in Providence are mostly very expensive ones – I’d guess they cost as much as a car – and this means the owners are older people who are willing to have a conversation about the noise. You can tell them, could you please be bit quieter once you get off the highway.
They’re also a population with disposable income. They spend money. There may be a few individuals who cause trouble, but as a group, they don’t. Many of them are the people our restaurants market to. •
