The idea that Sarpy County has worthwhile tourist attractions will not seem strange to anyone who has toured the historic sites of Olde Towne Bellevue, enjoyed a traditional soda fountain in Springfield, trod the boards of John Sautter's old farmhouse in Papillion or spent a few nights at La Vista's luxurious Embassy Suites.
Word seems to be leaking out.
Linda Revis, director of tourism for Sarpy County, said the county is doing increasing business with bus tours, with up to 150 people at a time traveling to Sarpy County for multiday stays.
"A bus tour group is a great economic boost to any community," she said. "They eat in our restaurants. They shop. They spend money."
Revis said the American Bus Association estimates a single motor coach holding 50 people will spend about $12,000 in a community each day it stays.
Though lucrative, the tour bus industry can be hard to penetrate, she said.
"You have to build a relationship with these tour operators," Revis said. "They're putting their name on the line bringing people to your area, so you have to provide something that makes them want to spread the word."
Sarpy County got serious about the bus tour industry in February when it hired Kristin Nielsen to work full time on the effort.
Nielsen works alongside Revis at the tourism department's western Sarpy County office, phoning, emailing, designing tour itineraries and basically throwing Sarpy County's hat in the ring.
It's been paying dividends.
Although Sarpy County has for years attracted day trippers from such nearby cities as Sioux City, Iowa, or Sioux Falls, S.D., Revis said Nielsen's efforts are bringing visitors in from further afield and for longer periods.
"She has five or six longer tours set up already for next year with a couple more in the works," Revis said. "Our name is getting out there."
Nielsen said almost all the tour buses coming to Sarpy County are "mystery" tours, a concept whereby passengers don't know where they are going.
Given the secrecy of mystery tours, Nielsen could not be specific about the origin of bus tours already booked for next year, saying only they will come from Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.
The largest, she said, is a Minnesota contingent of 150 people in three coaches who will spend three days and four nights in the county in September 2012.
Itineraries are still being devised for the visitors, Nielsen said, but she tries to give them a full sense of Sarpy County.
In addition to tours of historic sites in Bellevue, typical offerings include a trip to the Polish Heritage Society in Papillion for traditional Polish food, dancing and a little instruction in things Polish; a tour of the Caterpillar Klaas facility; visits to Schram Park and its aquarium near Gretna; and a tour of the regionally famous Cabela's hunting store in La Vista.
They might tour the Beansmith Artisan Coffee Roaster complex in La Vista, where Nielsen said "the smell is just wonderful when you walk in"; the Carl Weiss Studios and Gardens in Springfield or the Holy Family Shrine near Gretna.
The Bellevue Berry and Pumpkin Ranch is a reliable provider of hayrack rides and fun evenings that might include performances by the Sarpy Serenaders barbershop society. Lunch might be served at Tiburon Golf Course, where local historical re-enactor Darrel Draper has been known to perform as Peter Sarpy, for whom the county is named.
The Minnesota group — all 150 of them — are tenatively scheduled to attend a musical at the Bellevue Little Theater, she said.
Sometimes, Nielsen said, tours of Offutt Air Force Base are possible.
Any given group will experience a selection of those activities, Nielsen said.
"I think it's been going great," she said. "We just have just so much here. It's been kind of a beautiful process to see it become something real where any group could call and say they want to take a tour of Sarpy County and say how long, and what their budget is, and we would definitely be able to accommodate them."
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