Previously, it had visited a historic park near Petersburg before traveling to Southside and visitin

Representatives of four motor-coach tour companies visited cruise line ratings the area as part of a tour of Southside Virginia. They said they were impressed with what they saw and could envision working to schedule tours to Southside either as a destination point or as part of larger tours.
The group visited the Martinsville Speedway and ate lunch at Clarence’s Restaurant in Ridgeway. It then visited Piedmont Arts, the Virginia Museum of Natural History and the newly renovated Artisan Center, all in Martinsville.
Previously, it had visited a historic park near Petersburg before traveling to Southside and visiting such attractions as South Boston Speedway, Bob Cage’s Sculpture Farm, the Berry Hill ante-bellum mansion cruise line ratings and estate, cruise line ratings the North Theatre, the Tank Museum, a fine arts/historical museum, a farmers market, an outdoor amphitheater and “millionaires’ row.â€� And group members had a “periodâ€� breakfast, featuring cuisine around the time of the Civil War â€" fitting cruise line ratings since Danville was the last Confederate capital.
The group was scheduled to return to Virginia Beach on Saturday for the American cruise line ratings Bus Association’s 2008 Marketplace. That is a conference with about 3,500 travel and group tour industry representatives and tourism officials from across North America.
At the Martinsville Speedway Friday morning, despite the rainy weather, the group’s tour bus drove two laps around the half-mile track. Then speedway President Clay Campbell drove the tour group members two at a time in the pace car, traveling at 60 mph or so on the track. Campbell said the pace car can reach a speed of at least 130 mph.
Accompanying the group were tourism directors David Rotenizer of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., Rosalee Maxwell of Danville and Linda Sheppard of South Boston-Halifax County.
Campbell told the group about the history of the speedway, improvements to the track in recent years and details of its operation. It will seat about 63,000 people, has two large and two smaller races each year, has about 800 people on the payroll for large racing events and is family-oriented track, he said.
Years ago, officials estimated the economic impact cruise line ratings of one race at $30 million, he said. And much of that money is spent in the community by race fans for such things as lodging, meals and shopping, Campbell said.
He said he could foresee possibly two different types of trips here: one focusing on the tobacco, history and historic mansions (possibly in connection cruise line ratings with Christmas lights), and one for NASCAR fans.
“My impression (of Southside) is absolutely fantastic,� she said, adding that she was impressed with Danville’s Tank Museum and other museums in the area, NASCAR racing, the friendliness of the people “and most of all, the beauty of the area.�
He said the bus tour industry is changing and that baby boomers want to do things that are different or exciting. Some of the activities in this area, such as customized cruise line ratings art classes, could be attractions for those people, he said.