Marketing, new businesses give Branson's year a boost

BRANSON, Mo. -- A new marketing campaign, a specialty museum and a shopping and entertainment district that opened in May helped make 2006 a good year for Branson businesses and hospitality venues.

After several years of attracting an estimated 7 million visitors, the southwest Missouri resort town drew an estimated 7.3 million in 2006.

The Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce uses sales and tourism tax figures from the city of Branson and from Taney and Stone counties. It also does 2,800 monthly ZIP code surveys and longer surveys at 35 locations in Branson, and hotel occupancy is reported by national service Smith Travel Research, said chamber spokesman Dan Lennon.

'Apples to apples'

"We don't have a turnstile, and that number is an estimate, but it's pretty much apples-to-apples of things we've compared it to in the past," Lennon said of the visitorship numbers.

May saw the grand opening of Branson Landing, a $420 million lakefront shopping and entertainment district with dozens of popular chain stores, specialty shops and places to eat.

Operators of many longtime Branson stores and entertainment spots had worried they would lose customers to the Landing and to the Titanic Branson museum, a recreation of the ill-fated ship that also opened in 2006.

But business was up 6 percent over last year at the Hollywood Wax Museum, said Michael Frederick, who's been manager since the attraction opened in 1996.

"After 10 years, you generally level out, but we've been up the past three years," Frederick said. "I went into the season thinking perhaps the Landing and the Titanic and other things that opened in town would distract from us."

'More metropolitan'

That wasn't the case, but the visitor profile has changed, he said.

"More metropolitan," Frederick said. "Younger, and a lot of families. What was fun was that in the fall and Christmas, we still retained our senior customer base."

Chamber statistics also indicated that new marketing in Dallas and Chicago boosted visitor inquiries from those areas. Funds for that advertising came from revenue generated by a new 1 percent retail tax earmarked for marketing and approved by voters last year.

Doug Kissinger, who has managed a Bob Evans restaurant in Branson since it opened in 1992, also said numbers were up. On Wednesday, customers were waiting in line for lunch seating.

"This is as busy a year as we've had since the early to mid-'90s, and when you consider how many more restaurant seats there are now than then, it was an incredible year for Branson and Bob Evans," Kissinger said. "A lot of people I talk to say their business is up double digits."

Kissinger thinks local decisions account for the boom.

"I credit the people of Taney County for passing that tourism tax increase that provided more money for marketing, and city officials for going forward with Branson Landing even with opposition in the early stages."

Visitor numbers were boosted this week by the three-day Xtreme Conferences winter event at the Grand Palace. For the past 10 years, the Georgia-based company has attracted thousands of young people on Christmas break from across the country to hear top Christian artists and speakers, said theater manager Tracy Gideon.

Even the latest restaurant to open in Branson has been pleased with its reception, said Rose Wheeler, managing partner for Chili's. The eatery opened Dec. 7 in Branson Hills, the site of Target, Home Depot and TJ Maxx, stores that opened this spring.

"We've been very well received," Wheeler said. "A lot of locals have been highly anticipating us opening, and that's what we want, is to be the restaurant for the city of Branson with the residents as our primary guests."