many respects, but particularly because 

 they can't grow physically to absorb 

 change such as traffic, says Doe, the 

 Atlantic Beach town commissioner. 

 And that creates special problems. 



In Wrightsville Beach, another 

 popular coastal spot, traffic is clotting 

 roads as "weekend warriors" and day 

 visitors spin into town and seize up the 

 precious few parking spaces, says 

 William Hall, professor of economics 

 at UNC-Wilmington and director of 

 the Center for Business and Economic 

 Services. 



On a recent Sunday afternoon, Hall 

 says he couldn't find a parking space 

 after several passes on the island. 

 Finally, he left his passengers and 

 drove home. 



Quality of life has suffered some 



Pier fishing is a favorite pastime of locals and visitors. Recreational fishing is one of 

 the state 's top tourism draws. 



for Hall because it's not as easy to 

 enjoy the exceptional coastal scenery 

 that brought him to the area. But he 

 says tourism has been a mixed blessing 

 to Wrightsville Beach and Wilmington 

 where retail sales are robust. 

 "I suspect the situation will 



probably take care of itself," Hall 

 says of the traffic. "People will find 

 that it's difficult to go to Wrightsville 

 Beach and that will put in a natural 

 limit." 



Roads are just one of the expand- 

 ing needs that coastal communities 

 have to plan for, according to a 1989 

 Legislative Research Commission 

 report on tourism. Towns that enjoy 

 rapid growth and success of tourism 

 must host a burgeoning vacation 

 population while keeping an eye 

 toward protecting the environment. 



The scenery, after all, is the 

 number one reason that tourists travel 

 to an area, and North Carolina 

 typically is chosen as a destination 

 because of the overwhelming beauty 

 and variety of its scenery. 



"But North Carolina can no 

 longer afford to take that scenery for 

 granted," the report says. "Environ- 

 mental abuse is taking its toll and the 



It wasnl long ago that 

 many tourists heading 

 south passed by the 

 more rural, inaccessible 

 North Carolina beaches 

 for South Carolina and 

 the sandy white beaches 

 of south Florida. 

 But no more. 



state must act now to intensify its 

 efforts to protect our natural habitat." 



Otherwise, destruction of the 

 state's scenery through neglect will 

 result in the gradual loss of the 

 tourism industry, the report warns. 



The success of coastal tourism 

 also rides on the services that most 

 communities take for granted on a 

 day-to-day basis. 



In Ocracokers, Ballance writes, 

 "If the lighthouse belongs to the past, 



6 JULY/AUGUST 1992 



