When Gov. Bill Clinton challenged Americans with little knowledge about Arkansas to ``come on down,`` he ignited his state`s tourism industry.
Clinton extended his invitation in July when he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination during the party`s convention in New York.
``The very next day our phones lit up and they continued to be lit up for days afterwards,`` recalled Joe David Rice, director of tourism for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. ``People took Clinton up on his invitation. We sent out hundreds of vacation kits as a result. For the last quarter of the year our inquiries were up about 25 percent. For the year to date they are up about 15 percent,`` Rice said in a telephone interview last week.
Rice attributed the surge to Clinton`s ``visibility.`` He noted that inquiries at the state`s tourist information centers on major Arkansas highways were up about 23 percent.
``We`re doing a pretty good job of advertising, but the fact is, Clinton`s the best advertisement we`ve had. For the last 20 years our parks and tourism office had been working to get Arkansas on the map. Clinton managed to do that in 13 months.``
Now that he`s President-elect Clinton, Arkansas for years to come will be a destination for those travelers who follow presidential trails in much the same way that history buffs visit Springfield, Ill., for Abraham Lincoln and Independence, Mo., for Harry Truman.
As a result of Clinton`s election, Rice said he hopes for a 10 percent increase in visitors and expenditures next year, based on 1991 tourism numbers. Last year Arkansas tourism had a record year, with 16.3 million visitors who spent $2.5 billion, contributing $116 million in state taxes and $30 million in local taxes. The state`s travel and tourism industry provided employment for 47,650 Arkansans with a payroll of $445 million.
For 1993, Rice predicted the state would receive nearly 18 million visitors who would spend about $2.75 billion.
For years, the state`s primary destination has been Hot Springs and Hot Springs National Park, a spa and resort area first administered by the U.S. in 1832 as a special preserve. It became a national park in 1921 and prospered as a spa, known for its constant 143 degree waters from 47 thermal springs. Hot Springs lies near the popular Ouachita Mountains and Ouachita National Forest, which includes 5 wilderness areas, 32 developed recreation areas, nine navigable rivers and 19 lakes large enough for boating.
Other popular destinations include Eureka Springs, a Victorian town, once a health spa in the Ozark Mountains; Little Rock, the state capital; Mountain View, home of the Ozark Folk Center and Blanchard Springs Caverns; the Bull Shoals Lake Area near Mountain Home; Fayetteville, a resort center in the Ozark Mountains and home of the University of Arkansas; and Helena, on the Mississippi River.
Arkansas long has been a haven for retirees because of its scenery, relatively moderate climate and comparatively low cost of living. Visitors from Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma lead the state`s vacationers, followed by Illinois.
In addition to these traditional sites, many visitors will want to follow the Clinton Trail, which starts in Hope, Clinton`s birthplace in the southwestern part of the state. There Clinton lived with his grandparents at 117 S. Hervey St. while his mother completed nursing training.
Clinton then lived with his mother and stepfather at 321 E. 13th St. and attended Miss Mary Purkins` School for Little Folks at 601 E. 2d St.
The Clinton family moved to Hot Springs in 1953 and lived at 1011 Park Ave. Other Clinton sites in Hot Springs include Park Place Baptist Church and the old Hot Springs High School on Oak Avenue, now a middle school.
From Hot Springs, Clinton attended Georgetown University in Washington, then Oxford University in England and finally Yale University Law School in New Haven, Conn.
When Clinton returned to Arkansas, it was to Fayetteville, where he and Hillary Rodham became law professors at the University of Arkansas. After he and Hillary married in 1975, they bought a brick home at 946 California Drive. After Clinton`s election as Arkansas attorney general in 1977, the couple moved into a one-story brick home at 5419 L St. in Little Rock. Then it was on to the Governor`s Mansion at 18th and Center Streets for two years. When he failed to win a second term, he and Hillary bought a frame home at 816 Midland St. in Little Rock, where he practiced law. When he was re-elected governor, the Clintons moved back to the mansion, where they will remain until they take up residence at the White House.
In Little Rock, visitors pause at the handsome Old State Capitol where Clinton announced his candidacy for the presidency and where he delivered his victory speech on Nov. 3.
Jerry Dean, a staff writer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, traced Clinton`s trail through the state in a recent article. No doubt pamphlets and books will further detail Clinton`s Arkansas.
Last week friends of the Clintons bought a possible retreat for the couple and their daughter, Chelsea, on the Pacific Ocean in Summerland, Calif., a few miles east of Santa Barbara.
But Rice, the consummate tourism director, suggested that the Clintons may well end up with a Kennebunkport equivalent in Hot Springs or in northwest Arkansas. It`s a safe bet that Clinton won`t forget his roots. -