ximit) ?qjQ1 Whs*
Jiy3 IMmi fh zJi KljJ d Of YzzJf
BV MARJQRFF megivern
r ? They're using all the superla
tives. "Amazing!" "Fantas
bown' ? 3nd "An abs0lu*
,gg, ' ar.e somc of the ways the
1994 tourist season is beino de
scribed by those who know best.
t seems that visitors to the South
Brunswick Islands have come in
greater numbers this year, stav
longer, and even extend the tradi
?ona summer season. The impact
is felt by real estate firms, golf
courses, gift shops, restaurants, and
line"k E?,iceuforce- bottom
n ' . V '8- cheer for the steady
tlo\\ of cash into county coffers.
On the front lines of tourism and
population growth is the real estate
SloanPn i'PP S,?ane' President of
loane Realty in Ocean Isle Beach
Sei * "banner year" for
"We're extremely busy," he said
m early August. "We've been 100
perccnt full for several weeks and
are booked solidly for the next few
s- In July, we had almost 100
percent occupancy every night...
Ihh y eVer " As a resu,t' he
hired <L company has recently
hired several more people.
Sloane attributes the bonanza to
the improved economy nationwide.
the ,ar^a has gotten really
good press, he added. "Word of
mouth has always been great, but
this year businesses are doinq more
promotion and the Chamber of
Commerce has done an excellent
H.c also credits golf for an ex
panded season. "Often Oyster Bay
(golf course) was full in March and
Apr'1 and in recent years during
September and October, when the
teach was not full."
Another seasoned Ocean Isle
Beach real estate broker, Debbie
rox, paints a slightly different pic
turc of growth. "There has been
more trafflc thls yeaj. tha(,s ^
sure, she said, "but that doesn't
mean necessarily more vacationers
This whole area's growing and
here are more permanent residents,
think heat is bringing more local
rodents t? the beach." She added,
he shoulder seasons (before
une, after August) are certainly in
creasing. 3
Dean Walters, general manager
o* Sea I rail Plantation in Sunset
Beach, agreed with Sloane's enthu
siastic assessment. "We opened this
place in 1985 and the visitors who
chlh ! h St d'dn ' CVen brin? their
clubs It was just family stuff on the
oeach. Now, they come in the fall
Plays golf" C,UbS' and eVerybody
expected to do a booming summer
business, but now the courses are
full even in the mornings. And the
only slow season is December and
early January."
BfcACON FILE PHOTO
HERE'S PROOE that vacationers and resident beach-lovers have flocked to Brunswick beaches. The
number photographed here in July of 1993 has escalated , according to business owners and other
South Brunswick Islands obsen ers.
Unlike Sloane. Walters attributes
increased tourism to natural re
sources. "This tremendous growth
has to do with the quality of our
beaches," he said. "We have to give
credit to thv. golden egg.. .the
ocean."
He acknowledges, however, that
Brunswick County is blessed with
quality golf, as well, with more
than 20 courses just in the South
Brunswick Islands. "This tremen
dous rush of business has made a
difference at Sea Trail," he said.
"Wc now employ more than 200
people and still need more sales
and management people."
Walters noted that a growing
population of property owners in
this end of the county is another
factor in the 1994 boom. "These
c~ w.. / . 1 '?
people are becoming more active,
too," he said.
When the weather or the mood
argues against outdoor recreation,
most visitors (and many residents)
turn to shopping foi their tun. One
of the many gift shops dotting the
landscape is the Potter's Wheel on
Holden Beach, enjoying its seventh
year in business. Owner Mary
Didyoung said an upward climb in
customer numbers has happened
regularly every year.
"1 don't know if we have more
tourists in the county this year, but,
like in other years, more people
found us," she said.
Didyoung is her own accountant
and bookkeeper and she comment
ed, "The traffic in the shop got so
heavy, I had to move my office 0
PHOTO BY MARJORIE MEGIVERN
URSULA H ROWS' takes care of customers at the Potter's Wheel, a
H olden Reach gift shop whose business has grown steadily for sev
en years.
my home. I just couldn't get the
work done. Fortunately, I have
wonderful employees, so 1 can
walk out and leave it to them."
The expanded tourist season
prompted her to make gradual ex
tensions in her shop's schedule.
"We opened this year in February,
just on weekends," she said, and in
March went to seven days a week.
Beginning Memorial Day I extend
ed the hours, and on I^abor Day
will cut them back a little."
One activity common to every
visitor and most residents of the
South Brunswick Islands is eating
out. Until very recently, the restau
rant scene consisted primarily of
traditional seafood and fast food es
tablishments, but there is a trend to
ward varied eateries and more of
them, particularly since passage of
legislation permitting the sale of al
cohol.
Betty's Waterfront Restaurant is
an "old-timer" among them. In
business near Holder. Beach since
1983, Betty Varnum's seafood res
taurant on the Intracoastal Water
way has recently come under the
new management of Mike and
Bethanna Macomson. Mike is near
ly ecstatic about his first year's
business.
"We had projections based on
past figures as to how we'd do," he
said, "and we've done far better
than expected, especially with local
people."
Why? "I'm a good cook,"
laughed Mike.
Other factors, he added, include
the proximity to Holden Beach, in
troduction of a small bar, "The
Thirsty Turtle," and a D.J. on the
restaurant deck that plays beach
music for evening dining.
He offered another reason for the
burgeoning tourism. "I think own
ers of beach cottages are coming
down more often than they used
to," he said.
The Macomsons have had to hire
more kitchen help and several wait
resses, he said, bringing their total
employees to 30. Still, he feels the
burden of his own responsibilities.
"I'm worn out," he laughed.
In making assessments of a
growing tourist economy, there is
more to consider than the new dol
lars flowing into the county. There
are human factors, such as crime,
crowd control and traffic jams.
No one can evaluate this better
than law enforcement personnel,
who labor long hours, especially
during holiday weekends, to keep
the multitudes safe and reasonably
peaceful.
Police Chief Curtis Pritchard has
this job on Ocean Isle Beach.
There were certainly more people
on the beach this year than any pre
vious year," he said, "but it was less
a problem for the police than last
year."
Pritchard, like many others,
points to the healthy economy as a
motivation for vacationing here.
People have more money to
spend, he said, "even those who
are out of work and cause trouble
stealing or drinking, arc better off
than before."
Crowded beaches means a chal
lenge for his department. "We're
busier, of course, and our job per
formance must go up, because
more people means more com
plaints." Despite this fact, Pritchard
said no additional officers have
Hccn Hired
Behind the scenes of "banner
years is the steady, persistent work
of marketing agents like the South
Brunswick Islands Chamber of
Commerce. Angela Caison, admin
istrative marketing assistant, said
the chamber is "probably" respon
sible for much of the tourist flow.
A year ago, we placed an ad in
Southern Living" she said, "and
we've had more than 6,(XK) in
quiiics Hum iiiai, iiicy'ie still com
ing in. Inquiries have really gone
up this year in general."
Another chamber activity that
has borne fruit, according to Cais
on, is its "travel shows" in regional
cities. "We did a travel show at the
Raleigh Woman's Show back in the
spring and distributed more than
5,00() brochures," she explained.
Also, we took thousands of
plastic bags with our name and
phone number on them, and all
were gone."
She estimated that calls to her of
fice about the area average 1(X) per
day, rising just before the holidays.
It always helps, too, when news
papers write articles about the
South Brunswick Islands," she
added. "That has happened with the
Atlanta paper and newspapers in
Raleigh and Charlotte, too. We get
plenty of inquiries after these arti
cles appear."