Black tourism group meets in Virginia Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

Many black vacationers shunned Virginia Beach after the Greekfest riots in 1989, when visiting blacks clashed with police.

What a difference two decades make.

Last week, 400 people came to the Beach for a national meeting promoting group tours by African Americans.

"I don't think they would have come here if it had not been for the evolution of Virginia Beach and the product that we have to offer, which is continually changing," said Jim Ricketts, director of the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The three-day gathering of the African American Travel Conference attracted about 200 planners of meetings and group tours catering to blacks and a similar number of representatives from more than 100 destinations, including Virginia Beach; Atlantic City, N.J.; and Branson, Mo.

Instead of windy speeches, the conference featured 6-minute flash meetings between planners and tourism reps, as well as sightseeing tours throughout the Beach.

Based on past meetings of the African American Travel Conference, Ricketts said half of the visitors from the association will plan a group tour to Virginia Beach within three years.

Joe Cappuzzello, president and CEO of the African American Travel Conference, based in Salem, Ohio, said the group chose the Beach based on the "state-of-the-art convention center" and hotels, the intensive "wooing" by the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau - and the location.

"They are just going crazy," Cappuzzello said Thursday. "A lot of our people are from the heartland. They don't get to see the ocean."

No bitter aftertaste from Greekfest?

"I don't know if any of them are even aware of that," Cappuzzello said. "I have not heard any negative feedback."

By Philip Walzer
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 17, 2011