Who Keeps Virginia Beach Busy In The Off-season?
Virginia Beach, Virginia has a busy summer season
, but lack of crowds in the fall, winter and spring have left businesses wanting. Responding to local marketing campaigns, the residents nearby seem to be supporting their own.The winters in Virginia Beach, Virginia are the time for the locals to take back the beach.
Yes, the city of surf and sun loves its tourist base in the summer, but from autumn until early spring, it belongs to the people who live there year-round.
A quiet walk down Atlantic Avenue on a windy, overcast day brings the strong smell of salt through the air, while the wind rustles through the pampas grass and the palm trees lining the nearly deserted street on a chilly weekday. Although there are many small businesses open along the oceanfront area, foot traffic is slow.
The city for many years has tried to rustle up a plan to bring snowbirds to Virginia Beach. Marketing plans by the local government have often attempted to drum up visitors to come in the dead of winter, but with kids in school and the warm destinations of Florida and the tropical islands, it doesn't quite have the bang to it that is found in the summertime. Even the rare promise of snow falling on the ocean isn't enough to draw visitors.
Sure, there are plenty of Virginia Beach internet marketing and advertising coupons luring singles and retirees to the bevy of hotels and restaurants that stay open in the off-season. Cheap room rates and dining deals are the norm for the quiet time of year, where the open businesses are hoping for some customers.
While the Virginia Beach internet deals work to some degree by drawing folks from Northern Virginia and North Carolina, it is the locals that come down to the water from all around Hampton Roads, but especially the city's own residents. Since the marketing advertising campaigns aren't flooding the city with people in the off-season, the locals are picking up the slack and supporting their local businesses. Local advertising is drumming up patrons.
At lunchtime on a typical Friday, there is a flurry of activity as local business professionals sit in the restaurants enjoying the lunch specials and looking out the big bay windows to enjoy the scenic view.
After lunch, they will probably walk down to the boardwalk to enjoy the crash of the waves and the fresh smell of the sea air for a few minutes before they head back to their offices and the daily grind, leaving the streets quiet once more.
Happy hour and dinnertime bring out the nearby residents and local business owners that support each other's endeavors when the tourist crowds are gone. People enjoying the great dinner deals can hear each other's voices without yelling. The service is a little better and so are the tips.
Come nighttime, the younger set will diverge on the area, meeting up with friends and familiar faces in the local bars that are open on the weekends only for the winter months. It is a time for camaraderie, partying and relaxing, their way of taking back the beach.
While businesses are not packed quite as much as they are in the busy summer season, the popular clubs still have their crowds, which are spurred on by gung-ho spots of local radio advertising. Come on down to the water, they say, offering half-price drink specials while reminding would-be patrons there is no cover charge at the door.
Parking is easy and cheap, if not free. Traffic is non-existent. The few out-of-town visitors patronizing the businesses blend in with the crowd.
Although the city's quest for more tourists in the fall and winter will never fulfill itself, the local residents don't seem to mind too much. It's their chance to enjoy the smells, sights and sounds that come with living on the East Coast. Come summertime, it will all be gone again, when the tourists arrive with their loud music, bumper to bumper traffic and, yes, the money that keeps businesses going.
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