COMMENTARY: Cruise Line Finds Yorktown A Bridge Too Far
Objections to multiple projects around region may signal decline of tourism influence
Back in April 2024, Princess Cruise Lines abandoned their planned stops in the quaint village of Yorktown. This comes after the company and local politicians initially sprung the deal on the community as fait accompli. But residents quickly responded with organized efforts to stop the boats from ever docking and apparently, the cruise line got the message to go somewhere else – Norfolk actually.
One group in particular, Preserve Yorktown, successfully led opposition to the cruise ships, but really shouldn’t have needed to do so. All one had to do was look at the images the group produced demonstrating the scale of the proposed massive cruise ships compared to the Coleman Bridge and the town’s cozy waterfront to know it was a bad fit. The concept of dozens of tour buses packing the narrow streets to cart people off somewhere else didn’t make much sense, either. But that didn’t stop the company and the region’s economic development cheerleaders from pushing it anyway. More is always better right?
It’s easy to think the results may have turned out differently in the past. There’s still plenty of support for tourism in the area — especially for the historic attractions. We pay more taxes for it. We build infrastructure for it. We welcome visitors with friendly smiles. Yet there’s also a sense of fatigue around the topic. When new projects pop up, questions frequently surface about how much is enough, what impact will new efforts have on the existing community and who should be involved in decision making.
York County is growing and has been for decades, like most of the region. Growth in other industries has brought jobs and people who aren’t specifically dependent on tourism. So while tourism’s importance to our region remains, it’s reasonable to point out that other factors may now carry greater weight when judging the need or want for investments in new attractions and visitors.
The pushback also includes development projects that large institutions like Colonial Williamsburg desire to build. While support for the Foundation’s mission of preservation runs deep in this community, I’m not so sure the same can be said for their current leadership’s desire to transform the face of the City with new construction. First came their failure to push through the Spotswood development, which will remain a golf course instead, despite local leadership’s early and avid support. Following on the heels of that shadiness, CW and City leadership unsuccessfully attempted to quietly rezone dozens of acres of land in order to build new high density commercial and residential development across from the new “Sports Town.” Forced through by local leaders, that facility is being built on land owned by CW with public funds.
Apparently undeterred by a few setbacks, CW regrouped and is now working with the aid of a regional government entity called the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority. Together, they’ve been granted broad powers by the Williamsburg City Council to build, baby, build. Coming up next is a music venue, competition ice rink and swimming pool. Who knows what else they might be cooking up at this point?
I’m guessing folks in Williamsburg are likely to step up eventually like they did before, like the folks in Yorktown, to say “no, enough is enough, we don’t want that.” And they’re likely to be surprised when they find that the City Council voted away the ability to do much of anything about it. Perhaps that’s when the public reckoning of backroom tourism development deals will finally begin.
George Arbogust is Founder and Editor of the Williamsburg Independent. You can contribute too! Send stories and ideas to contact@williamsburgindependent.com.