Riverboats buoy tourism in Cape Girardeau

Paddle-wheelers have docked more frequently in Cape Girardeau this year, boosting tourism for a city whose history is tied to the Mississippi River.

Three of the stately riverboats docked here last week, including two riverboats that graced the riverfront Wednesday.

The latest docking occurred Saturday when the American Duchess, whose suite-style accommodations can house up to 166 passengers, made a stop on its maiden voyage.

Brenda Newbern, executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said nearly twice as many dockings (18) are scheduled this year compared to 2016.

In 2016, Cape Girardeau saw 11 dockings.

LAURA SIMON ~ lsimon@semissourian.com The American Duchess riverboat made a stop at Riverfront Park in downtown Cape Girardeau on Saturday, Aug. 26, 2017, during it's maiden voyage north own the Mississippi River.

Saturday’s docking was the 12th one this year, with another six dockings scheduled through season’s end, Newbern said. The season runs from June through early October.

Newbern said she is thrilled to see the growing number of riverboat stops.

“The Mississippi River is a tourist attraction,” she said. “We are a river town, but so often as a resident, you take it for granted.”

The CVB doesn’t take it for granted.

While the riverboats may generate nostalgia for the grand days of steamboats, the dockings have an economic payoff. Newbern said boat passengers visit the city’s museums and downtown businesses.

The riverboat companies pay for their passengers to visit downtown museums and historic buildings, Newbern said. The passengers are shuttled to the attractions on tourist buses provided by the boat companies.

Downtown stops include the historic Glenn House; Red House Interpretive Center which commemorates the life of community founder Louis Lorimier; Cape River Heritage Museum; Crisp Museum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus; and Old St. Vincent’s Church, Newbern said.

The combined economic benefit to those attractions by the end of the riverboat season this year “could be close to $20,000,” Newbern estimated.

That figure depends on the number of passengers on each vessel and the number of attractions the boat companies schedule for tours, she added.

Besides the scheduled tours, passengers often walk around downtown, stopping to eat at restaurants and visiting antique shops, she said.

But Newbern said it is impossible to determine every economic benefit from the paddle-wheeler visits.

“We have no way of knowing what tip was given at the attractions, shopping that may have taken place at a store” or food or drinks purchased, she said.

“All are really not easily measured when a boat docks, but we know it is sustainable tourism at its root and allows us to showcase our city to others,” Newbern said.

“Hopefully, they may come back and visit for a longer stay,” she added.

Margaret Ford, volunteer director of the Cape River Heritage Museum, said it is not uncommon to have 60 to 80 boat passengers visit the museum over a four-hour period.

For a museum that relies heavily on donations, “every little bit helps,” including visits by riverboat passengers, she said.

Ford said the boat dockings help the whole downtown.

“It creates more activity, more hustle and bustle,” she said. “We look forward to it.”

The riverboats that dock at Cape Girardeau carry from 150 to 436 passengers, depending on the vessel.

Newbern said passengers on the riverboats often come from overseas.

On Wednesday, while two riverboats were docked, Newbern said she saw a couple from the Netherlands and another couple from Australia visiting Cape Girardeau’s downtown.

“The key is that it shares our river town with people from across the world,” Newbern said of the dockings.

Passengers regularly compliment the city’s downtown, she and Mayor Harry Rediger said.

Rediger said passengers often say, “You have a beautiful, little town.”

The mayor said boat visitors “spend money here,” which helps the local economy.

Newbern and Rediger said they believe Cape Girardeau will continue to be a great destination for the paddle-wheelers.

With the addition of the American Duchess riverboat, Newbern said the number of boat dockings in Cape Girardeau could increase again next year.

“It is very exciting,” she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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