THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996            TAG: 9602070448
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY MYLENE MANGALINDAN, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   49 lines

VIRGINIA WATERFRONT GAMBLE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF THE REGIONAL CAMPAIGN, LARGELY BANKROLLED BY NORFOLK, HAS GENERATED MORE THAN $34 MILLION IN REVENUE, ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY.

The solitary regional marketing campaign that Norfolk embarked on about three years ago is starting to show dividends, local tourism officials say.

Entering its third year, The Virginia Waterfront campaign generated more than $35 million in revenue during 1995, according to an economic impact study released Tuesday by Norfolk marketing director Sam Rogers.

Williamsburg-based Wessex Group Ltd., a marketing research group, completed the study for The Virginia Waterfront campaign to assess the number of people who visited the region after asking for information.

The number of inquiries jumped to 118,000 in 1995, from 50,000 in the campaign's first year.

According to the ``conversion study,'' about 43,500 of the 118,000 who called or wrote for Virginia Waterfront information actually traveled here, Rogers said. That's more than a third, 36.9 percent.

The Waterfront Campaign, a Norfolk-backed regional effort to market the cities of Norfolk, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach as one destination, has shown encouraging results, said James B. Ricketts, director of the Virginia Beach Department of Convention and Visitors Development.

``I think this is good progress,'' Ricketts said. ``They've showed really positive results. This is the first quantifiable research they've done.''

The Virginia Waterfront campaign commissioned the Wessex Group to do the conversion study to establish benchmarks for how much money is generated through the regional effort.

The long range goal for the campaign is to increase Hampton Roads' $2 billion tourism industry to $2.5 billion in five years, Rogers said.

Norfolk committed to spending $3 million each year for three years but mostly without substantial contributions from other Hampton Roads cities.

The cities of Portsmouth and Hampton have contributed $50,000 toward a regional infomercial the campaign ran, to which Virginia Beach also contributed $100,000.

But Virginia Beach doesn't plan to pitch in more just yet.

``I think we have to stick to the long range goal: Give the program three years and evaluate it at that point,'' Ricketts said.

KEYWORDS: TOURISM by CNB