The Willow Glen Resident

Tourists spend shopping money on Lincoln Avenue

Retailers laud the rise in business from conventioneers

By Cecily Barnes

Every so often, luxurious tour buses cruise down Lincoln Avenue and deposit up to 50 visitors in downtown Willow Glen for coffee, lunch and shopping. They arrive via the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, which highlights downtown Willow Glen as a must-see shopping spot for tourist groups and other visitors.

"We're trying to send more groups from the conventions that come to the area because Willow Glen is so close, and it's quaint for shopping," said Linda Frontella, membership director for the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau. "When a convention is booked and they say 'We'd like to go shopping,' Willow Glen is one of the areas we suggest."

Other shopping spots include Valley Fair Mall and the Great Mall in Milpitas. But Willow Glen stands apart from these stops, Frontella says, because of its neighborhood feel and individual storefronts.

Merchants along the Avenue who have hosted large tour groups couldn't be happier about those busloads of customers. They say they welcome the business and hope to see much more. According to statistics from the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau, this wish is already coming true. In 1996, the bureau sent 5,131 visitors on group bus tours of San Jose, as opposed to some 2,000 the year before.

"That gives you some idea how much tourism is increasing in San Jose," said Sonya Bradley, spokesperson for the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Lincoln Avenue merchants point out that tourists are especially desired because they buy different items than local shoppers. "It's great if you want to sell something like fur coats or other things that don't sell well in California," said Julie Painchaud, owner of Our Secret. "Usually the tourists are interested in the unusual stuff that they won't see in their own town. I can't see anyone thinking anything negative about tourist shoppers because that's usually what they're here to do: They're not lookers; they're shoppers."

Statistics support Painchaud's observation, indicating that tourists spend an average of $30.16 each day on shopping alone. And it's likely that these shoppers spend this money on shops featured in visitors' bureau literature. As a marketing agency for the city of San Jose, the San Jose Convention and Visitors Bureau woos conventions to town and then directs conventioneers to member businesses and areas of interest once they get here.

"We have a little over 600 businesses that are looking to work with conventions or visitors when they come to San Jose," Frontella said. "It could be a florist helping them decorate their show, a printing company or a catering company."

Since Painchaud is a Chamber member, Our Secret is listed on a brochure handed out to visitors. Downtown Willow Glen landed a spot on the brochure simply because it is an undeniable attraction.

"We are a member organization, but we do sell the entire city," Bradley said. "If you're a member you get listed in the brochure, but we [list] Willow Glen as a general place to visit. In the 'points of interest' box, we highlight Willow Glen as well as Japantown."

Willow Glen Business and Professional Association manager Demetri Rizos says that Lincoln Avenue is growing into an even greater shopping district every day. Other than parking for the buses, there is little concern over the increasing tourist trade.

"Willow Glen is definitely a destination point for shoppers," Rizos said. "The downtown doesn't really have a retail section."

Merchants say that visitors aren't just looking for stuff to buy; they're looking for a quaint surrounding, too.

"I've often heard visitors call Willow Glen a small town in a big city," said Casa Casa co-owner Meg Yeargain. "They always seem happy to be here."

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