Cities say guns in bar law hurts tourism
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:03 pmhttp://www.tennessean.com/article/20100 ... cities-say
The state's restaurant and bar owners have made no secret of their opposition to Tennessee's guns-in-bars law, saying the prospect of armed patrons, or a sign keeping guns out of an establishment, is bad for business.
Now, the leaders of the Nashville and Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureaus are saying the law has hurt local tourism efforts, claiming that other cities are using the guns-in-bars measure to lure visitors away from Tennessee.
"It's probably the single biggest issue people write and talk about when they're considering coming here," said Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"We had international press, and we have gotten letters from visitors who literally have canceled plans to visit."
What's more, Sypridon said competing cities have used the new guns law against Nashville in trying to attract conventions.
"As the economy (took a turn) other cities and hotels used a lot of different tactics, negative sales tactics," Spyridon said. "Without question some cities, some hotels, will utilize whatever tactics are at their disposal."
Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis visitors bureau, said it had experienced a similar response.
"Other cities have used it as ammunition against the state of Tennessee, namely Memphis and Nashville, talking about how unsafe it is," Kane said.
Spyridon and Kane declined to point to specific examples, and convention bureaus from other cities, including rivals areas such as Portland, Ore., and Indianapolis, refused to comment about the state's guns-in-bars law.
The law allowed restaurant owners to ban guns on their premises by posting a sign, but Preston Lam of Memphis-based River City Management said that option doesn't sit well with the tourism industry, either. River City Management owns several establishments on Beale Street in Memphis, where visitors must pass through a security checkpoint and a wand-search for firearms.
"You're kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't. You put the sign on the door, but somebody coming in says, 'Gosh, is it dangerous around here?'
(more at link)
The state's restaurant and bar owners have made no secret of their opposition to Tennessee's guns-in-bars law, saying the prospect of armed patrons, or a sign keeping guns out of an establishment, is bad for business.
Now, the leaders of the Nashville and Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureaus are saying the law has hurt local tourism efforts, claiming that other cities are using the guns-in-bars measure to lure visitors away from Tennessee.
"It's probably the single biggest issue people write and talk about when they're considering coming here," said Butch Spyridon, CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau.
"We had international press, and we have gotten letters from visitors who literally have canceled plans to visit."
What's more, Sypridon said competing cities have used the new guns law against Nashville in trying to attract conventions.
"As the economy (took a turn) other cities and hotels used a lot of different tactics, negative sales tactics," Spyridon said. "Without question some cities, some hotels, will utilize whatever tactics are at their disposal."
Kevin Kane, president of the Memphis visitors bureau, said it had experienced a similar response.
"Other cities have used it as ammunition against the state of Tennessee, namely Memphis and Nashville, talking about how unsafe it is," Kane said.
Spyridon and Kane declined to point to specific examples, and convention bureaus from other cities, including rivals areas such as Portland, Ore., and Indianapolis, refused to comment about the state's guns-in-bars law.
The law allowed restaurant owners to ban guns on their premises by posting a sign, but Preston Lam of Memphis-based River City Management said that option doesn't sit well with the tourism industry, either. River City Management owns several establishments on Beale Street in Memphis, where visitors must pass through a security checkpoint and a wand-search for firearms.
"You're kind of damned if you do, damned if you don't. You put the sign on the door, but somebody coming in says, 'Gosh, is it dangerous around here?'
(more at link)