The top three things people within a 150-mile radius look for in a vacation destination are warm, welcoming people, a laid-back environment and a variety of activities -- all of which Cape Girardeau offers, said Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Chuck Martin during the bureau's presentation at First Friday Coffee.

The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce's monthly networking event was held Friday morning at its new location, Isle Casino Cape Girardeau's Event Center.

Cape Girardeau has visitors from all over the United States, but most travel from Missouri or surrounding states, according to data from the visitors bureau. About 49 percent of overnight visitors come from Missouri, about 12 percent come from Illinois, and 3 percent travel from Tennessee and Arkansas.

One-third of Cape Girardeau's overnight visitors from Missouri travel from the St. Louis metro area.

There are eight primary market drivers for the city, according to information from the bureau's hospitality partners, Drury Hotels and MidAmerica Hotels Corp., as previously reported.

For overnight guests, leisure travel comes in as the No. 1 reason people visit Cape Girardeau, followed by construction, amateur sports, medical, social, corporate travel, government and other business travel and entertainment, respectively.

When promoting Cape Girardeau as a destination, Martin explained the bureau's marketing focuses on what the city offers, including:

* History, such as Fort D Historic Site, the Red House Interpretive Center and the Mississippi River wall murals;

* Family activities, such as the Cape Girardeau Public Library, Melaina's Magical Playland and Cape Splash;

* Outdoor activities, such as various city parks, hiking trails and wineries;

* Other activities, such as Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus productions, the Isle Casino Cape Girardeau, Dalhousie Golf Club and historic downtown shopping.

After the recession brought the lowest amount of hotel tax lodging receipts over the past five years in fiscal year 2010 -- about $525,000 -- Cape Girardeau has bounced back, bringing in about $675,000 in fiscal year 2013, according to bureau data.

April's First Friday Coffee was sponsored by MediCenter Pharmacy and ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning Services.

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632

Upcoming special events in Cape Girardeau:

May 17-18 -- Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival

June 21 -- Inaugural Summer Arts Festival

Aug. 26 -- National Corvette Caravan

Sept. 9 -- Motorcycle Cannonball

*From the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau

Pertinent address:

777 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO