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Project Runway

A new, privately owned airport in Branson means big changes for you and for 417-land. Find out what's in store once this unprecedented project is complete.

(page 7 of 7)

Coleman is also seeing demand from people currently living in Springfield to be close to the airport there. He believes that when they have another option in Branson, they will uproot and buy homes farther south, taking advantage of a lower tax base.

These local moves pale in comparison to the potential for Branson to become a national second-home market. A whole lot of people are about to discover Branson. Some of them will decide to stay.

Peet says they surveyed people traveling to Branson from farther than 300 miles away and asked them if they knew someone who would make the trip if direct air service became available. He was surprised to see that somewhere between 60 and 70 percent said they knew someone who would make the trip.

Timeshare companies represent some of the biggest money in Branson, according to Coleman, who says they already expect a couple of million more people will be coming to Branson in the very near future. According to Coleman, the various timeshare groups were early backers of earlier airport efforts that didn’t pan out. It created enough momentum to take them to this point, though.

“When timeshare companies realize they can tap into flights to the major cities, they will start to create special fares for these people and try to create as much demand as they can,” Coleman says.

These will be even more new visitors, becoming exposed to Branson for the first time and returning to tell friends and relatives about the wonders of 417-land.

The airport is designed to help make a good impression on that front. The drive from the Branson Airport will take new arrivals through the billboard-free hills of the Branson Creek development, past golf courses and up Highway 65 into Branson proper. According to Coleman, the value of that drive shouldn’t be underestimated. “This will be the first look at southwest Missouri and the first impression for many of these travelers,” Coleman says.

The demographics are bound to change according to Jeff Wohlt, domestic marketing manager with the Missouri Division of Tourism. They have been watching the airport develop. “We’re very, very impressed with what they are doing,” Wohlt says. “They will be able to attract a whole different market.”

Wohlt believes the hyper-country image that has long pursued Branson is in its waning days. He says the attractions are top-notch, the shows world-class, and the shopping is quickly growing. Branson is primed for a whole new market of tourist.

“I foresee us being able to bring in the higher income traveler who wants to do some shopping along with the music show strip stuff,” Wohlt says. “With Branson Landing, they have to get the higher-end traveler. If we can get them, it is going to be big.”

The truly air-bound jet set, with his or her own private aircraft will bring another bump in the Branson visitor’s demographic profile. Coleman expects the sales of lakeside retreats and second homes to climb as these leisure travelers make their way across Missouri skies. Glenn Patch and Mickey Gilley have already reserved private hangers at the airport, and plans call for an easily expandable stable of hangers to be built if the demand is there. “We’re basically taking the most expensive highway in the world and building an off ramp to Branson Missouri,” Coleman says.

The jet-setters don’t have a lot of patience for an hour-long ride from the airport. Once they can get in and out easily, it’s expected that they will start buying up property.

A look around town tells you there is plenty of enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. It is almost impossible to look in any direction and not see something bought or something sold. A nearby airport should accelerate that growth, and not just for the tourist trade. The ability to fly the business class in and out of town should act as an accelerant to an already vibrant market.

Lynn Berry, public relations director for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking forward to an airport just a few minutes from her office door. “It is very important to our convention business,” Berry says. Having an airport eight miles down the road as opposed to 50 will make a big difference.”

Peet and Bourk are quick to defuse any hint of rivalry between Branson Airport and the Springfield-Branson National Airport. They both stress that there is room for both airports in the market. Additionally, according to Bourk, they take aim at different customers.

“We’re a different market than Springfield,” Bourk says. “They are catering to the business traveler. That is their bread and butter. They aren’t set up to handle large volumes of leisure travelers.”

Bourk points out Springfield-Branson National Airport’s continuous service to Dallas as an example. You can get on a flight heading to Dallas any time of day. Branson Airport won’t have that, according to Bourk. Just one or two large, low-cost flights a day will bring vacationers into the airport from Dallas.

Still, falling prices are another inevitable change. When Bourk was successful in luring low-cost airlines into Portland, Maine, airfares fell across the region while the number of visitors rose, according to Portland International Jetport marketing manager Gregory Hughes.

“The new low-cost carriers helped the Jetport by introducing low fares and forcing the existing airlines to compete and lower their fares,” Hughes says.
“As a result we continue to grow and set passenger records.”

The airport itself will mean 210 new jobs, plus more jobs to service increased demand all around the region. Bourk says they estimate economic impact at $150 million, including $7 million in additional state and local tax revenue.

Other businesses will start to consider Branson as a place to set up shop once the airport is in, according to both Bourk and Coleman. He has even heard talk of building corporate retreats and private resorts in the Ozarks hills.

When you add it all up, it is staggering: jobs, revenue, land values, air fares, new tourists, increased demand, more opportunities, easier access, and an airport that is pioneering a whole new way of doing business.

Branson balances on the edge of becoming a national destination city on par with Las Vegas or Orlando, and the airport dreamers are rapidly making that idea a reality. The changes, it would seem, are inevitable.

“I believe that completely, I’m probably not completely objective on that at this point,” Peet says. “The only thing holding us back is lack of national air service.”

That change is in May of 2009 when Branson Airport and all of 417-land opens for business.