Cape visitors to be surveyed this summer for CVB study

A study this summer will look at who is visiting the Cape Girardeau area and why they're coming here.

Since 2004, Cape Girardeau has billed itself as the place "where the river turns a thousand tales" and has focused on bringing visitors to the area to see historic sites.

"We are now at a wonderful crossroads where we're seeing many new things coming online," said Chuck Martin, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Jonathan Livingston imagines he is a firefighter Thursday, April 22, 2010 at the Discovery Playhouse. (Fred Lynch)

The new attractions include destinations like Cape Splash Family Aquatic Center, Discovery Playhouse children's museum, Jones Heritage Farms, the Conservation Nature Center and Lazy L Safari Park to open in June.

"These attractions may push us into a new area to be able to bill ourselves as a family-friendly destination," Martin said. "That's not to say that families may not also enjoy going to a heritage site while they're here."

In its first month of operation, the Discovery Playhouse hosted more than 3,000 visitors, said Janet Livingston, interim executive director of the museum.

A largemouth bass swims along as Kaitlynne Todt, left, and Erin Lunsford, both of Fruitland, watch native Missouri fish Wednesday, May 26, 2010, in the Conservation Nature Center at Cape Girardeau County Park North. (Fred Lynch)

"When you've got the water park and this place and Lazy L Safari, more families will come in from surrounding areas and stay longer." Livingston said. "They may spend the night because they can do so many more things."

Martin will select a market research company to perform a visitor study by July and plans to continue to survey visitors through mid-2011. The exact cost of the study is yet to be determined; however, Martin estimates it will be less than 10 percent of his office's $225,000 annual advertising budget.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau's governing body approved plans to conduct the study at its meeting Friday. The study will explore why visitors come to the area, how long they stay, what sites they visit and how much money they spend locally, Martin said.

It also will show the best way to communicate what the community has to offer to various visitor groups, he added.

"We fail to recognize everything we do have here," Martin said. "It's amazing all there is to see and do and that we have all this in a community of less than 40,000 people."

Surveys could be taken in person at local sites, distributed through direct mail or taken by visitors online after they've returned home.

Martin said he'd like to work with Southeast Missouri State University's School of Business on the project as well.

The results of the survey will shape the Convention and Visitors Bureau's 2011 advertising campaign, which would also be affected if Cape Girardeau receives the state's only available riverboat casino license.

"We are waiting to see how the casino issue will play itself out," Martin said. "Having a casino would impact greatly how we market the area."

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

400 Broadway, Cape Girardeau