Tourism beats forecast in non-bowling year

Monday, May 24, 1999 | 11:52 a.m.

RENO -- Anxious tourism officials are breathing a cautious sigh of relief as visitor numbers remain healthy so far in a year when neither of Reno's two largest bowling tournaments are making a stop.

"We budgeted to have decreases the first quarter and we exceeded last year, and May has continued the same trend," said Steve Trounday, marketing director at Fitzgeralds Casino/Hotel.

The region has pinned a lot of economic hopes on the men's and women's bowling tournaments, which bring hundreds of bowlers and fans to Reno, but neither event makes an appearance this year.

The Reno Gazette-Journal talked with tourism officials, who generally credit hotel-casino expansion projects, the reopenings of some closed properties, Truckee River redevelopment and the strong economy with the optimistic outlook.

Most gaming companies that are required to make public reports are posting improvements so far this year.

Ken Adams, a Reno gambling analyst, said that even without the bowlers, things seem to be doing as well as expected or slightly better. He calls the future positive.

The Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority is anticipating about the same number of visitors as have come to the area the past two years, and authority President Phil Keene sees that glass as being half full.

He sees flat numbers in the face of declining traditional gambling customers as meaning that the transition away from being a gambling-dependent economy may be underway.

The numbers that do remain disconcerting are those at the airport, where passenger counts are down 10 percent through April of this year compared to the same period in 1998, before Reno Air slashed its service by 20 percent.

A gradual increase in flights the rest of this year is expected to boost passenger counts to 1998 levels, according to airport spokesman Adam Mayberry.

Both the airport officials and tourism executives are looking forward to next year's return of the Women's International Bowling Congress tournament, which is expected to lure as many as 100,000 visitors.