Chamber talks tourism at monthly breakfast

Tourism became the top subject at the Texarkana, Ark., Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Business to Business Breakfast meeting Friday.

Jeff Sandford, chamber president and chief executive officer, said the chamber so far has conducted 73 touristrelated events this year, with more to follow.

“Texarkana also has 12 new hotels built in the last four to five years,” he said. “We are no longer a city only involved in the industrial and manufacturing worlds, but also in the hospitality world.”

Melanie Holland director of marketing for Holiday Springs Water Park, Holiday Inn-Texarkana and the newly opened Arkansas Convention Center, spoke about the center’s space and various amenities. These include 25,000 square feet of meeting space, an indoor swimming pool, the Connections Bar & Grill, a business center and whirlpool suites.

During the brief time the water park opened earlier this summer, Holland said she noticed license plates of park customers from both Louisiana and Oklahoma.

“Next year, the park has plans to connect with 75 (Four States area) school districts,” she said.

Jennifer Montoya, director of convention services for the Texarkana Convention Center, and Karen Andrew-Lucas, director of room sales for the center, spoke about the various benefits of the recently opened center. Then Valerie Eaves, a certified travel counselor for the Texarkana Travel Information Center, addressed some financial metrics.

“Of the $65 billion in tourist dollars spent in Texas last year, $197 million of those dollars came to Texarkana and $27 million of that $197 million came to local hotels here,” she said. “Right now, we have 1,670 local jobs related to tourism here. It’s been said that Texarkana is a pass-through city, but now it is becoming a destination city.”

Charles Nickerson, vice president of economic development for the chamber, agreed.

“I hope that as we leave here today, there won’t be any question about the part tourism plays in this city,” he said. “Texarkana is no longer a stopping point on the way to somewhere else. We are rapidly becoming a stopping point ourselves. So be an ambassador for the community. The challenge will be to remain positive and focused.”