Evening star., 1953-05-03
$135,OOOAsked
In Capital Fund
To Lure Visitors
! Poyoff Of $l,48O
To One Cited by
Campaign Chairman

Committee cites an investment
paying off at 1.480 to l in it's
campaign to raise $685. for
its work of attracting visitors
and conventions to Washington.
For every dollar the business
man invests in GNCC. the city is
made richer by 1.4SO," said r.
Roy Dunn. campaign chairman
and president of the Potomac
Electric Power Co.. last night.
That's what it comes down
to proportionately when you
consider the fact that the 4 mil
lion people who visit Washington
every year leave in our city's col
lective cash register about $500
million, according to the Fifth
Federal Reserve Bank in Rich
mon," he explained.
Catering to the wants of these
4 million visitors is Washington's
biggest income producer next
to the Federal Government pay
roll. he noted. The drop in Fed
eral employment, he said, adds
urgency to this years campaign.
Must Close Earning Gap.
IF we are to remain an
economically healthy city, we
must find way to close this
earning gap" Mr.. Dunn warned.
"Since our most saleable COM
modify is Washington itself, we
will need more and more visitor
dollars if we are to continue to
thrive and grow"
These dollars. earned else
where spent here, can be called
new" money. rather than an
exchange of dollars earned and
spent here, he pointed out.
This 5000 million is an i'm
portant addition to our wealth
which otherwise we simply
would not have. regardless of
the state of our internal bus
inesS," he said.
Mr.. Dunn said that all bus
inesses benefit, directly or in
directly from the money flowing
through such primary receiv-
erS" as hotels. restaurants, re-
tail stores and transportation
companies.
Without the 5000 million
from visitors. employment in
Washington would take sharp
drop, it was explained, affecting
such other businesses as real
estate, groceries and even in
Surance.
Sees Threat to 20 Per Cent.
Alfred A. McGarraghy, cam
paign vice chairman said the
owner of Sholl' Cafeterias, has
predicted that 20 per cent of the
businesses in Washington would
discontinue or suffer material
losses if the committee did not
bring in the annual 5000 mil
lion.
The committee reports that
competition for the travel dol
lar has increased tremendously
during the postwar period. Many
cities spend from three to five
times as much as the Greater
National Capital Committee on
attracting the vacation minded,
1t said.
Two of Washington's strong
est competitors, New York and
Atlantic City, spend $250,000 and
$350,000 respectively for visitor
promotion annually, according
to committee figures, and New
York's budget is augmented
further by State tax money.
Miami and Miami Beach together
spend $450,000 a year for the
purpose, the committee said
The committee maintains a
small staff of experts in the con-
vention and travel field, headed
by Clarence A. Arata. executive
director, whose job is to pro-
mote Washington for visits and
conventionss.
Convention Spending Outlined.
Last year. the committee
brought 325 conventions here. it
was reported, and the 100000
or so delegates spent about $25
million here. The committee sup
plies these figures on convention
spending:
For hotel rooms and incidental
hotel expenses, 25.4 per cent; in
hotel restaurants, 1877 per cent;
in other restaurants, 1874 per
cent; in retail stores, 20 per cent:
for beverages, ST. per cent, for
night clubs and sports. ga per
cent; for local transportation,
80 per cent; for gasoline. oil and
automobile service. 81 per cent;
in theaterS, IL per cent: on
sightseeing, IL per cent, and for
miscellaneous goods and services,
ga per cent.
In the field of visitor promo
tions, which accounts for some
SITS million worth of business
annually. the committees pub
licity staff is in touch with news
papers, magazines. radio and
television and specialized publi-
cations.
Sponsors Three Attractions.
The committee also sponsors
directly the Cherry Blossom
Festival attended by hundreds
of thousands each spring The
festival is in the same league
with New Orleans Mardi Gras
and Pasadena'S Tournament OF
Roses, according to the COM
mittee.
Two other attractions CO.
sponsored by the committee here
are the Presidents Cup Regatta
and the July 4 celebration on the
Washington Monument grounds
A new attraction this year is
the intercollegiate Rowing AS
Sociation Regatta to be held or
the Potomac May 16. The com.
mittee hopes to build it into 9
national sports attraction.
Mr.. Dunn noted that the com.