Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Sept. 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 81
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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."
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Sept. 1, 1994, edition 1
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