Corpus Christi, TX, is open for business. So where is everyone?
Julie GarciaCorpus Christi is open for business. So, where is everyone?
Despite the majority of Corpus Christi being spared from Hurricane Harvey's wrath, tourism is down.
Restaurants and bars, museums and the Texas State Aquarium all experienced a downturn in profit during the fall and holiday season.
But that contrasts with another number tourism leaders keep track of: revenue per available hotel room, which is 80 percent higher than the previous year. How is that possible?
"People are here to work and sleep. They're not going to the aquarium, not going to to the Lex (U.S.S. Lexington), not going to Water Street to have a nice dinner," Paulette Kluge, executive director for the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the Corpus Christi City Council last week. "They're getting per diem (pay) and going to H-E-B and getting soup in a can. They're not here for a vacation."
Planning ahead
Five days after Harvey last August, the Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau and Pettus Advertising had a conference call with tourism officials in New Orleans.
Kluge called it "Hurricane 101."
A decade later in 2015, the city's tourism rebounded with nearly 10 million visitors and 600 more restaurants, but it took time for people to come back after 80 percent of the city was flooded in the iconic storm.
"They gave us some perspective on what is going to happen (to tourism)," said Bill Pettus of Pettus Advertising. "We had a very positive brand image, but we know it was damaged because a lot of people think we were more damaged by the storm than we were."
About $1.7 million is being spent on "Rediscover Corpus Christi," a new ad campaign developed by the CVB and Pettus. It was launched Feb. 1 in Houston, Austin, San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley — all considered "drive markets" or areas that are considered an easy drive to Corpus Christi.
It is part of Coastal Bend United, a nonprofit coalition of 10 CVBs and chambers of commerce that was created to support small businesses affected by Harvey in South Texas.
Print advertisements, featuring former Texas A&M University professor Jim Needham and Water Street restaurants owner Brad Lomax, have already been placed prominently in Texas Monthly. The surfer-style ads will run in Austin Monthly, San Antonio Magazine, Texas Highways, Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine and Houstonia Magazine.
There are multiple commercials that will air in these markets, including a Spanish version in the Valley.
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There are 19 Corpus Christi traditional and electronic billboards across the state, Pettus said.
"The CVB is really good at being proactive," Pettus, who has had a contract with the organizations since 2000. "This is their idea. We can't sit here and wait to find out what it will be like this spring. Spring is our chance to get people to come down here and test the destination."
The Harvey effect
Richard Lomax, with Water Street restaurants, said downtown business owners do not know what to expect during this year's tourist season.
"That storm was a major gut punch," Lomax said. "We've actually got one store closed (Water Street Seafood Co.) now due to damage from Harvey, and we aren't reopening it until we have a better bead on tourism and the local economy."
This has led the company to put all resources into the Water Street Oyster Bar and Executive Surf Club for the coming months.
The marketing and entertainment team have worked to book a strong musical lineup at Surf Club while an outside patio has been built onto the oyster bar, Lomax said.
The Art Museum of South Texas has been affected by the downturn in local tourism, but it will continue to rely on proven strategies for attracting people.
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"We've been focusing on doing business as usual. Harvey has come through, but we continue to promote arts in South Texas," said Karol Stewart, coordinator of community services. "We are focusing on our large exhibitions and finding more ways to be approachable and bring people in."
The museum is participating in a partnership with the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, the aquarium and the Lexington, for members to have discounted admission rates.
Hotel tax request
With the million dollars spent on the campaign and other plans to reboot Corpus Christi's image to tourists, Kluge has a simple request for City Council: "I want some money early. It's no big deal. It's in the bank."
According to the CVB presentation, hotel taxes are up $765,820 over last year.
The CVB is asking for an advance payment of $336,960 that has been collected in hotel occupancy taxes. According to the organization's contract, it would not receive those funds until the 2018-19 fiscal year.
"We don't need it a year from now. We need it absolutely right now," Kluge told council members. "We need to get it out that we are open for business, get it out and hit it hard, hit it often and a lot."
On Feb. 13, the council will likely decide whether to advance the funds to the CVB. Council members Paulette Guajardo, Debbie Lindsey-Opel, Michael Hunter, Lucy Rubio and Greg Smith spoke in favor of it at the last meeting.
This story was produced in partnership with the Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
