By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

The Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau is betting on the probability that visitors to Downstream Casino Resort will want to do more than just gamble.

Bureau representatives will meet with dozens of bus-tour promoters to see whether sites in Joplin can be packaged for bus tours.

“Before, the bus tours for people going to Branson would stop for lunch in Joplin,” said Vince Lindstrom, head of the tourism bureau. “They would not stay overnight. The Downstream Casino is the attraction that has changed that.

“People are staying overnight now, and we think we have a lot in Joplin to offer when they are not gaming at the casino.”

Local attractions that might be packaged into a tour for the 50-to-70 age group are Sandstone Gardens, the Chocolate Factory, the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center, the Joplin Museum Complex, and the historic Murphysburg District.

Lindstrom said getting bus tours into the Joplin market could have a profound effect on the city’s hospitality industry.

Cameo Gerdes, sales director for the bureau, will be meeting with the bus-tour operators. Lindstrom said at least 40 appointments have been made.

“This is what you call a ‘fam’ tour or familiarity tour,” Lindstrom said. “You help tour leaders understand what’s available in an area.”

Next week, Lindstrom will travel to Kansas City for the 2008 Missouri Showcase Marketplace for a regional meeting of tour leaders. The bureau also is working to promote Joplin with the American Bus Association and the National Tour Association.

Before the opening of the casino, which is 10 minutes west of Joplin off Interstate 44, the bureau had been receiving inquiries from tour leaders.

“There’s considerable interest out there, and we want to capitalize on it,” Lindstrom said.

Joplin’s hotel district, he said, has benefited from the opening of the casino. That’s because the casino’s hotel is still under construction. But even after the hotel opens, Lindstrom believes Joplin’s hotels will continue to benefit.

“I think we will see a real impact from the Tony Bennett show (Sept. 6) at the casino,” he said. “People will be staying in our hotels for that because the casino’s hotel hasn’t opened. Once they stay here, they’re likely to come back because of all of the other things they can do here.”