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CNN.com - Titanic growth in Branson, Missouri - Apr 3, 2006
Titanic growth in Branson, Missouri
Museum dedicated to famous ocean liner latest of new attractions
Monday, April 3, 2006; Posted: 1:30 p.m. EDT (17:30 GMT)
Workers finish painting the exterior of the Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri, March 7.
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Branson: Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and
Visitors Bureau, http://www.explorebranson.com
Getting there: Located in southwest Missouri, 35 miles (56 kilometers)
south of Springfield. From U.S. 65 South, take exit U.S. 65/Missouri
248/Veteran's Boulevard. Springfield is the nearest major airport.
Dick Clark's American Bandstand Theater: 1600 West Highway 76;
http://www.dickclarksbranson.com/ or (417) 332-1960. Shows -- including
Paul Revere and the Raiders, Gary Lewis & the Playboys and "Original Stars
of American Bandstand" -- open April 21. Adults, $39 (euro32); children 12
and under, $20 (euro17).
Titanic Museum: 3235 76 Country Blvd. and Highway 165;
http://www.titanicbranson.com/ or (417) 334-9500. Adults, $16.95 (euro14);
children 5-12, $9.95 (euro8). Open daily, 9 a.m.-11 p.m.
Branson Landing: Located in downtown Branson, near Business Highway 65 and
Main Street; http://www.bransonlanding.com/. Opens May 26. Mall includes
Belk Department Store, restaurants, marina and boardwalk on Lake
Taneycomo. Bass Pro Shop will open later this summer.
Silver Dollar City: Amusement park; http://www.silverdollarcity.com/. New
attraction, Grand Exposition, opens this spring. Hours vary. Adults, $43
(euro36); children, 4-11, $33 (euro27); seniors, 62 and over, $41
(euro34). YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
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Manage Alerts | What Is This? BRANSON, Missouri (AP) -- The bow of the
Titanic rears above the spray of waves, the fatal iceberg jammed in its
black and riveted iron flank.
The museum built to resemble the ship is part of Branson's efforts to
continue growing by widening its appeal beyond the elderly tourists who
first helped it boom in the early 1990s, drawn by wholesome country music
and crooners.
Branson is adding more upscale shopping, family attractions and pop music
fare aimed at newly retiring baby boomers and parents with children. The
southwest Missouri town also is seeing a surge of commercial and
residential development as it becomes more of a year-round resort.
"It means we are not an attraction-only destination. It's a mix of
shopping, commercial and residential development, and it means more
year-round employment," said Jerry Adams, Branson's city communications
director.
Visitors are expected to number 7.6 million this year, Branson tourism
officials say. That would be a 4 percent increase, double the national
growth in vacation travel that the Travel Industry Association of America
forecasts this year.
Branson is not about to turn its back on its country music roots. But to
appeal to aging baby boomers and more families with children, there are
more pop music attractions this year, including Dick Clark's American
Bandstand Theater Complex, opening in April and presenting 1950s and 1960s
rock.
Theme parks are also expanding. Silver Dollar City, a mix of crafts and
rides with a late 19th century atmosphere, is spending $8 million (euro6.7
million) to add 10 rides in a new area called the Grand Exposition that
echoes the era of world's fairs and expositions.
Also opening this spring is Branson Landing, a shopping mall with a marina
and boardwalk on 95 acres (38 hectares) on Lake Taneycomo. About 80
percent of an expected 100 stores and restaurants, including Belk
Department Store, will be ready for the development's May 26 opening.
Later this summer, a Bass Pro Shops, the Springfield-based hunting,
fishing and outdoors retailer, will open at Branson Landing, followed by a
Hilton Hotel in October. A convention center and a second Hilton are due
to follow in 2007.
Branson Landing is part of a development boom here. The value of new
construction was a record $173.5 million (euro144 million) last year after
$76 million (euro63 million) the year before. This past January alone, new
construction worth $44.6 million (euro37 million) broke a record of $10.3
million from January 1994.
Titanic attraction
The Titanic attraction, officially named "The World's Largest Titanic
Museum Attraction," opened in March.
Museum owner John Joslyn is a former television producer who dove to the
wreck in a submersible in 1987 and produced the documentary "Return to the
Titanic ... Live."
Joslyn has been a collector of Titanic artifacts and opened a smaller,
similar attraction in Orlando, Florida, that he sold to build the Branson
museum.
The Titanic building looms above Missouri 76, Branson's Strip. The
100-foot-tall building recreates the bow of the ship, complete with a pool
at its base that sprays water as though it were cutting through the ocean.
The entrance is through a mock iceberg tip that juts out of the ship's
side. Inside, visitors take a 90-minute walk past more than 400 artifacts
and reconstructions of the ship and the life stories of many of its
passengers.
The grand staircase from first class is rebuilt, as are first- and
third-class cabins. Visitors step out on a darkened deck chilled to feel
like the fateful night in April 1912 and can barely make out the outline
of an iceberg ahead under a field of stars.
Joslyn said he has been coming to Branson for years and decided it made
more sense for his attraction to be here, rather than Orlando.
The Branson Landing project is changing the Lake Taneycomo waterfront into
a pedestrian mall with shops, restaurants and hotels."I love the Branson
demographics," Joslyn said. He said both the families that tend to come in
summer and the older visitors in the spring and fall have an interest in
the Titanic story.
City economic development director Michael Rankin said Branson Landing
will help meet a city goal of increasing year-round business and
employment to make up for a seasonal drop when most entertainment and
tourist venues close from December through March.
The shopping experience at Branson Landing also fits into efforts to
increase tourism. Shopping is a major activity for vacationers and
complements the shows and theme parks, according to Dan Lennon, vice
president for marketing at the Branson Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce.
"It's still all about tourism and all about entertainment," Lennon said.
"But one of the challenges we have is getting more first-time visitors."
A resort destination needs a certain percentage of first-timers to keep
growing. That rate in Branson has been running in the low 20s since a peak
of 35 percent in 1995, and the chamber wants to get it back to an industry
benchmark level of 25-30 percent, Lennon said.
That's where new attractions such as the Titanic museum and a greater
variety of music shows come in.
Branson is also a drive-to destination, which can work to its advantage,
despite high gas prices, according to the Travel Industry Association of
America.
"We've seen time and time again when gas prices spike, people still tend
to travel. That can benefit an area that is within a drive of a number of
large metropolitan regions," said association spokeswoman Cathy Keefe.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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