A new 10-year tourism master plan from the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau recommends renovating the Statehouse Convention Center, reinventing Ottenheimer Market Hall in Little Rock's River Market and improving access to the downtown riverfront.
Those steps and others outlined in the report are intended to stimulate Little Rock's tourism and hospitality industry, which serves as a significant economic driver for both the city and the state.
In 2021, 21% of all tourism spending in Arkansas took place in Little Rock, according to the master plan.
Officials publicized the release of the master plan with a news conference Wednesday at the Statehouse Convention Center.
"The pandemic was unlike anything we'd ever seen before, and at the [visitors bureau] we think our pandemic recovery is the opportunity to grow the industry like we never could've previously imagined," Gina Gemberling, the president and chief executive officer of the visitors bureau, told attendees. "The tourism master plan is our road map that will guide us to success over the next decade."
The visitors bureau serves as the city's marketing and tourism arm. It operates several downtown venues, including the Statehouse Convention Center and the Robinson Center performance hall, and receives most of its revenue from taxes levied on hotels, motels and restaurants.
Local tourism officials set out to develop a master plan "in late 2021 in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that caused catastrophic business interruption to the hospitality and tourism industries across the globe," the report says.
[Read Little Rock 2023 tourism master plan » arkansasonline.com/126plan/]
The visitors bureau hired officials at the firm Jones Lang LaSalle to help produce the 10-year plan as well as a 2023 business plan. The accompanying business plan is intended to serve as a guide during the first year of the master plan's implementation.
On Tuesday, two officials from Jones Lang LaSalle presented components of their work to members of the Little Rock Advertising and Promotion Commission -- the panel that oversees the visitors bureau -- ahead of the public unveiling. The same consultants, Dan Fenton and Bethanie DeRose, spoke to attendees at Wednesday's event.
Outreach conducted as part of the master-plan process included nine focus groups with more than 120 participants and a stakeholder survey with a total of 228 respondents, according to the document.
Stakeholder feedback and market research "identified the lack of riverfront activations and the need for greater leverage of the river," the master plan says.
Over the next 10 years, officials ought to seek out partners to develop areas of the riverfront within the River Market, the authors write, and not just necessarily for on-water activities.
Beyond the amphitheater, playgrounds and art installations within Riverfront Park, "the area still offers many diverse attractions and experiences, but a proactive effort to increase riverfront accessibility and activations is needed," the report says.
Comparable destinations with rivers often have "additional amenities for passive recreation as well as food and beverage and retail outlets along their waterfronts," the plan says. "The positive impact this could have on the city's placemaking ability and overall appeal should not be underestimated."
After breaking down how groups used the convention center's square footage, the authors found that the building's productivity could be improved.
"Analyzing the three years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic showed that from 2017-2019, utilization of the [Statehouse Convention Center] was approximately 45% in total," the master plan says.
Officials want to bring the single-year utilization rate to 60% over the next five years. In addition to changes to booking practices, the plan recommends that officials undertake a convention center expansion and renovation study.
"Currently, the building is positioned with its 'back' along the river which is not the highest and best use of river frontage," the report says.
The authors go on to argue that "when the optimization goal is achieved, the Statehouse Convention Center will essentially reach its capacity for incremental growth, and without expansion and new hotel development its impact will be limited."
For Ottenheimer Market Hall, the plan recommends that the visitors bureau "explores alternative operating models, including partnering with local brands as well as regional and national entrepreneurs in reimagining and reactivating the space."
The hall features a series of food vendors at different stalls. Its hours of operation do not extend into the evening.
The master plan also addresses public safety and perceptions of Little Rock on the heels of 2022, a year in which the number of reported homicides in the capital city set a new annual record of 81.
The plan's authors note that during stakeholder interviews and focus groups, the issue of crime and safety came up nearly every time. Nevertheless, they conclude that at the moment, "the perception issues appear to be more pervasive than the actual issues of crime and safety for visitors."
One recommendation is for the visitors bureau's marketing and public relations team to tell positive stories and "incorporate factual data when applicable."
"While there is a need to address the actual issues of crime and safety, allowing the negativity to continue in headlines only bolsters perception issues," the report says. "Stakeholders felt strongly that Little Rock has too much to offer to be brought down by crime statistics that do not penetrate the tourism districts."
The 2023 business plan lists seven goals with underlying objectives for each.
In addition to leveraging the visitors bureau's existing funding, the plan recommends that officials increase funding sources "to support potential tourism development projects, including convention center expansion, River Market Hall renovations, and sports facility construction."
Whether this new funding ought to come from a tax increase, one or more alternative sources of revenue or some combination is not laid out in the plan.
Jones Lang LaSalle is set to be paid a total of $337,500 for work on the twin plans as well as assistance with regard to implementation, according to Chris Phillips, the chief financial officer for the visitors bureau.
"This is a contracted total and has not all actually been paid yet as we are still working throughout this year on initial implementation," Phillips wrote in an email Wednesday.