Whither tourism?

With so many visitors to Princeton, talk is how to best serve them

By: Lauren Otis
   When Ken Larini, owner of Larini’s Sunoco on Alexander Street, hears talk of the need for a location in Princeton where tourists can obtain information, his first reaction is, "I thought that’s what we were."
   Motorists constantly stop at his gas station and ask for directions to everything from Route 206 to the Nassau Inn, Mr. Larini said. "Where do you eat? Where are the hotels?" are just some of the questions he says he gets. "It starts at six in the morning and goes all day," Mr. Larini said.
   Tourism is big business in Princeton. Fueled by half a million visitors annually to Princeton University, as well as countless more tourists coming for the myriad attractions — historic Morven, Bainbridge House, McCarter Theatre, the Princeton Cemetery, not to mention a panoply of high-end boutiques and restaurants — all within walking distance of Palmer Square, Princeton Borough can legitimately call itself a major destination in New Jersey.
   To date, visitors to downtown Princeton have had to rely on an informal network of information resources and providers to serve their needs. Most prominent are Princeton University and the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, both of which provide in-town and online information on Princeton’s attractions and resources. Beyond this, the network of sites, shops, restaurants, and the Nassau Inn and Peacock Inn (which is currently under renovation) all seek to inform tourists and refer them to each other.
   Is this informal system for handling visitors, which has grown up organically in Princeton over the years, sufficient to manage tourism in the future? Or is Princeton ready for a formal tourist bureau to promote its charms, incorporating a knowledgeable staff and a physical presence somewhere downtown, with municipal participation and perhaps funding?
   "Tourism in Princeton is hot, there is so much to do," said Lori Rabon, general manager of the Nassau Inn and chairwoman of the Princeton Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, the tourism arm of the Chamber of Commerce.
   Citing the visitors bureau Web site, www.visitprinceton.org, and the chamber’s downtown headquarters at 9 Vandeventer Ave., Ms. Rabon said she believes visitors do have ample resources and a physical site to visit to obtain printed visitors guides or other information, although she acknowledged that more can be done. The Web site often does not come up high on Web searches and needs optimization, and the chamber is looking to hire an employee dedicated full time to improving the Web site, Ms. Rabon said.
   The Chamber of Commerce has "an excellent relationship with Princeton University," Ms. Rabon said. She noted that the current circumstance, whereby the Nassau Inn and borough merchants take it upon themselves to direct tourists, is a good one. Of a physical visitors bureau located downtown, she said, "It would be difficult to have just one office in Palmer Square when you are promoting the whole area."
   Kristin Appelget, Princeton University’s director of community and regional affairs who until May was CEO of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, also cited the excellent partnership between the university and the chamber, including partnering to promote events and linking to each other’s Web sites. The Frist Campus Center, Princeton University’s welcome center, physically serves the needs of the half million visitors it gets annually, she said.
   Ms. Appelget noted that a recently unveiled preliminary plan for a Princeton University "arts neighborhood" along Alexander Street and University Place has proposed a visitors welcome center on the site in acknowledgement of the area’s evolution into an important gateway into Princeton.
   Back when she was with the chamber, "I always found the administration at the borough to be a very willing partner in terms of helping" the chamber in its tourism promotion efforts, Ms. Appelget said. She said she did not recall there ever being any formal conversation with municipal officials over their becoming more of a primary participant in, or even financial supporter of, the work of promoting tourism.
   "I think that everyone understands that there could be a great partnership that could be developed. It would seem to me to be a likely next step," she said.
   "I think we are pretty much covered," said Princeton Borough Mayor Mildred Trotman, citing the chamber’s and university’s resources for visitors. "I think they are pretty well served. Obviously there is always room for improvement," Mayor Trotman said. "We get a lot of free publicity from the university because so many people visit the university and end up crossing the street," she said.
   Mayor Trotman said there is a section at Borough Hall, located at 1 Monument Drive, where visitors can pick up brochures and information, although she acknowledged that this may not be a location visitors would normally visit. She said that an informational kiosk which once stood downtown was good, but it was removed a few years ago for aesthetic reasons. Of the university’s proposal to establish a welcome center at the Alexander Street gateway, Mayor Trotman said, "I’m not sure that having a kiosk or something near the Dinky station would do much to improve the publicity that we already have."
   Both Ms. Appelget and Ms. Rabon said the borough could use some of the revenue it takes in from a 3 percent hotel-motel occupancy tax to promote tourism.
   "That is one of the things I am hoping we can lobby not only the municipality of Princeton but all the municipalities in the state on," Ms. Rabon said, noting "it costs money to promote events, to send direct mail" as the chamber does when it promotes communitywide events such as Communiversity and JazzFeast.
   The hotel occupancy tax, which by law municipalities became able to levy in 2003 but are not obligated to use in any given way, generated $269,651.28 in income for Princeton Borough in 2005 and $310,893.88 so far in 2006, according to Assistant Borough Administrator Sandy Webb.
   "I think there are a lot of ways that it could be better spent," than for tourism, Mayor Trotman said of the income the borough receives from the tax. She cited public safety as a more deserving place for the money to go.
   "I think there are better ways to spend that money, I just do. I’m not against promoting tourism," she said.
   Arguably, Princeton’s experience illustrates the old adage that "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it" when it comes to serving tourists. "I’m a happy customer," said Kathie Morolda, owner of Cranbury Station Gallery at Palmer Square and president of the Borough Merchants Association of Princeton.
   Ms. Morolda said that the chamber’s tourism promotion efforts are excellent, particularly when it comes to informing businesses of upcoming events they may be able to capitalize on. And borough merchants, through the association and informally, also work well at referring visitors to appropriate shops and other businesses.
   And then there are those who think the level of visitors to Princeton is nearly too much of a good thing. Douglas Stephen, superintendent of the Princeton Cemetery of the Nassau Presbyterian Church, the historic cemetery which houses the graves of Aaron Burr, Grover Cleveland, and other famous names from the past, said, "We have 400, 500 people here a week. It’s like a park. I’ve been here for 54 years, I’ve never seen so many people."
   Promoting tourism and increasing the cemetery’s visibility and volume of visitors further "would be a hindrance I think," Mr. Stephen said.