shopping; theater and nature expedi- 

 tions. 



"We took everything in the area 

 that happened anyway and packaged 

 it into a festival for Canadians," says 

 Peterson. 



O'Bleness says that in the fall, 

 Canadians are among thousands of 

 windsurfers who converge on a 

 broad, shallow expanse of water in 

 the hook of Hatteras Island dubbed 

 the Canadian Hole. 



The Outer Banks have long 

 been revered for their fine surfing 

 and sailing venues. But wind- 

 surfing, which is surging in 

 popularity, has a different impact 

 on the coastal economy, he says. 



"With surfing you picture the 

 blond kid on the surfboard curled 

 underneath the wave," he says. 

 "Windsurfers come in here with a 

 BMW or a Mercedes with three or 

 four beautiful sailboards on 

 custom-built trailers. Each one of 

 those sailboards would probably 

 run two to three thousand dollars." 



The Dare bureau is experi- 

 menting with cable television to 

 reach these athletes, sportfisher- 

 men and other beach-bound 

 travelers. A 30-minute magazine- 

 style program about the Outer 

 Banks aired on a sports-oriented 

 cable channel with a viewing 

 audience of 2 million, O'Bleness 

 says. The program ran four times 

 a week for two 13-week stints, one in 

 the fall of 1990 and the other during 

 spring 1991. The bureau bought the 

 air time, and the channel, Home 

 Team Sports, produced the shows. 



The Travel News Network did 

 five 90-second features that aired for 

 a week during June 1991. The bureau 

 tracked an overwhelming response to 

 this televised exposure, says 

 O'Bleness. 



"We're looking all the time to 

 find new ways to tell the story of the 

 Outer Banks," he says. 



Other target markets for coastal 

 tourism are golfers, hang gliders, 



families, business travel, conventions, 

 senior citizens and nature lovers. One 

 of the fastest growing markets is the 

 tour group industry. Their participants 

 have more "spendable income," says 

 Lohr. 



"We're aggressively going after 

 the group tour market," she says. "It's 

 been proven that when a motor coach 

 spends the night in your area, it's 

 going to leave behind $3,000." 



Photo courtesy of Outer Banks History Center 



The late Ay cock Brown, renowned 

 Outer Banks publicist. 



As an added incentive for group 

 tours to choose the Crystal Coast, the 

 bureau offers free "step-on guide 

 service." With enough advance 

 notice, Lohr and her assistants will 

 dress up like pirates and provide 

 point-to-point narration for historical 

 hot spots. 



Attractions such as the five-sided 

 Civil War fortress at Fort Macon and 

 the N.C. Maritime Museum are 

 portals to the region's history. 



Visitors learn "that Blackbeard 

 really walked on our beaches and that 

 soldiers really camped out around this 

 building I'm sitting in today," she 



says. "They'll remember us and learn 

 what we have to offer here." 



The bureau even offers hospitality 

 training "for frontline help right on 

 down to the janitors," says Lohr. "We 

 bring in waiters and waitresses and 

 tell them how to answer questions, 

 how to avoid being negative, how to 

 give accurate road directions, to 

 always smile — the basic 'we're glad 

 you're here' attitude." 



Such emphasis has measur- 

 able results. Agreeable residents 

 and a picture-postcard appeal 

 rank among the top reasons 

 tourists select the Tar Heel coast 

 as a vacation destination, accord- 

 ing to surveys. 



Over the past five years, says 

 Gustke, coastal tourism officials 

 have begun to change their 

 advertising strategy, flaunting the 

 "scenery" and other perks as 

 much as specific attractions. 



"The image of North Carolina 

 is that it's kind of rural, has 

 beautiful scenery and very 

 friendly people," he says. 



Lohr says the beaches of 

 Carteret are geographically 

 distinct. They are oriented east to 

 west, which is uncommon along 

 the Atlantic coast. This layout 

 protects the county's beaches 

 from some of the more destruc- 

 tive storms that plague shorelines 

 to the north and south, Lohr says. 

 The climate along the southern 

 beaches is what sets the Cape Fear 

 coast apart, Peterson says. 



"Our weather in this little corner 

 of North Carolina is a lot different," 

 she says. "It's called the top of the 

 subtropical. You see palm trees. Our 

 rain comes in showers, and then it can 

 be beautiful in the same day." 



Divers, fishermen and sunbathers 

 alike favor the region's balmy 

 weather, she says. 



Another asset to travel and 

 tourism is the growing movie 

 industry in New Hanover County. 

 Peterson says the blockbuster thriller 



10 JULY/AUGUST 1992 



