SD43 - Welcome Centers and Rest Areas


Executive Summary:
Senate Joint Resolution 179 (SJR 179) directed the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to work toward determining new sites for welcome centers and upgrading, enhancing, renovating, and expanding existing welcome centers and rest areas in order to promote and entice tourism and to study the feasibility of locating additional welcome centers at major entrances to Southwest Virginia from neighboring states, and increasing staffing at existing centers. A task force composed of VDOT and Virginia Division of Tourism (VDT) staff was assembled to address this Resolution.

The task group identified four major issues that SJR 179 directed VDOT to scrutinize:

1. determine new welcome center sites in the Commonwealth
2. specifically examine the feasibility of establishing new welcome centers in Southwest Virginia
3. explore opportunities for enhancing, upgrading, and expanding Virginia's existing welcome centers and rest areas
4. examine the feasibility of increasing staffing at existing welcome centers in Southwest Virginia.

Discussion with the patrons of SJR 179 revealed that the principal purpose of the resolution was to determine if additional welcome centers could be established in Southwest Virginia as a means of promoting and enticing tourism there, thus benefiting the overall economy of the region. A secondary purpose was to determine if upgrading existing centers or adding new ones might enhance tourist's impressions of the Commonwealth and influence them to take advantage of more tourism opportunities in Virginia.

To address the question of whether locating additional welcome centers in Southwest Virginia could promote tourism in that region, the task group identified five roads leading into Southwest Virginia from other states on which new welcome centers might be constructed. It was assumed that these centers would be configured similar to those located on Virginia's interstate system. The five sites chosen for analysis were: (see chart titled "Prospective Southwest Virginia Welcome Center Sites" on numbered page 3 of the report)

The feasibility of establishing these welcome centers was analyzed from three perspectives: site availability and suitability, cost, and impact on tourism and visitation in Southwest Virginia. The sites on Routes 23 and 460 would be new locations. The Route 58 site, known as the Karlan property, is owned by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, where long-range plans call for a state park and the renovation of several existing structures.

With respect to site availability and suitability, this analysis focused on the availability of five acre tracts of usable land within five miles of the state border. Land appears to be available at the Route 23 and 460 locations and there is also sufficient acreage to house a welcome center at the Karlan site on Route 58. In addition, water, sewage, and electrical services appear to be available at all locations. At all but the Karlan site, however, VDOT might be faced with exercising its power of eminent domain, since it is not known whether the owners of these tracts would be willing to sell their land. The Karlan site, purchased by the Commonwealth in 1992, would not require eminent domain considerations.

The cost of developing five new welcome centers would be approximately $14,559,000, an average of $2.91 million per site. The Karlan site would cost the least to build (approximately $1.955 million) since the land is already state-owned and water and sewer facilities are present. Annual costs for maintaining the proposed centers are projected to be $568,080. Staffing costs, if levels that are typical at Virginia's welcome centers are instituted at the new centers, would be approximately $391,000 annually. This latter figure assumes four VDT employees per center. Options do exist for paring down the staffing costs such as having local jurisdictions staff the centers, contracting out counselor services to the private sector, establishing partnerships with local businesses, or using volunteers.

There is little debate that welcome centers are a desirable and valuable component of Virginia's interstate system. Studies reveal that the centers provide a break for drivers; offer information about the Commonwealth's many attractions, features, and tourist related businesses; and in fact, promote a positive image of the state and can influence how travelers spend their time (and money) in Virginia. But whether additional welcome centers on local roads in the southwest region of the state would activate additional tourist spending in that region is another question. There is no evidence to show that welcome centers are traveler destinations in and of themselves. Rather, studies show that welcome centers simply facilitate positive influences on traveler behavior rather than cause it. In the Southwest Virginia region, traffic data show that a large percentage of the traffic on the five routes for which additional welcome centers are considered is local. Given these facts, coupled with the cost of constructing new welcome centers at these locations, the economic benefit to the region that would be attributable to the construction of these new centers appears to be minimal at best. The lone exception is the Karlan site on Route 58. It is feasible that this site could become a destination for tourists due to its historic nature and the plans to create a state park on the property. These facts, coupled with the opening of the new tunnel through the Cumberland Gap and efforts to revitalize the Wilderness Trail, could render the Karlan site an important role in providing traveler information to visitors to Southwest Virginia.

Finally, it should be noted that VDOT has plans to upgrade and renovate rest areas and welcome centers at some 14 locations throughout the state. These upgrades will do much to enhance traveler impressions of the Commonwealth. With welcome center visitation surging (a 45% increase between 1984 and 1993), staffing also needs to be addressed. The ability level of two VDT counselors per location does not appear to keep up with demand, especially given Virginia's recent new attractions, such as Nauticus in Norfolk, Valentine Riverside in Richmond, and Explore in Roanoke. If staffing continues at current levels, other means of providing information at these welcome centers appear necessary, such as interactive kiosks containing data bases of information on attractions, restaurants, lodging, and sports events. This option, coupled with the tourist information provided at Virginia's 36 local/regional tourist information centers, will certainly aid in providing accessible local and statewide travel information.

In the task force's view, providing regional tourist information about attractions in Southwest Virginia at the state's existing welcome centers in informational kiosks and at the local/regional tourist information centers is the best means of enticing tourists to that region. These efforts, combined with the development of the Karlan site on Route 58, should do two things to bring tourists to the area. First, more information about Southwest Virginia will be available to more people. It should be remembered that, in 1993, the combined visitation at interstate welcome centers and local/regional tourist information centers exceeded three million visitors. Second, the Karlan site, if developed as planned, can serve as a tourist destination and thus has the potential to draw a significant number of travelers to the Southwest Virginia region, who, once there, can be provided with information about lodging, attractions, events, etc., throughout the region.