A Conversation With ... Linda Antus

In a simple word: growth. Being a really new dimension of the Branson tourism market, we’re already seeing indicators that we have new customers who are coming because we have a new product – Branson Landing – to offer them. They’re staying longer, they’re spending more money, and those are two very important indicators. We’re bringing in customers from new markets from Chicago to Dallas … . And we’re also bringing in more families. All of these things that are tourism measures also mean more revenues through sales tax, tourism tax – and it just means growth.

What’s your role with Branson Landing?

My position is very simple. It’s to create a brand, to design the brand feel, and then communicate it to our target customers in order to create awareness, excitement and foot traffic. The bottom line is: Get the people here.

There have been more than 1 million visitors to the Landing since HCW Development opened it May 26. How do you track where visitors are coming from?

Branson – the community – does research at various points in town, because Branson is a tourism market. Market Source out of Springfield collects ZIP codes and names and phone numbers and does follow-up questionnaires with the customers who visit Branson to determine a visitor profile. Branson Landing is a collection point several days a week, and the large number of people who come to Branson Landing make our collection point a very valid place.

Will there be anything special at the Landing for the holidays?

We’re extremely festive anyway, but at Christmas, we’re going to be even more festive. We have 91 shops open for Christmas, and 39 of those are exclusively at the Landing in southwest Missouri.

What’s still to come at Branson Landing?

We’re going to have well over 100 shops. We know of 10 additional openings that will happen by springtime. Sullivan’s Steakhouse will open Nov. 16, and Cantina Laredo will open … probably close to the 16th … . In the winter, the Hilton Promenade and the Liberty Tavern restaurant will be opening. In the spring of 2007 … White River Fish Co., Bass Pro Shops’ floating restaurant, Bar Louie, and Wedding Italiano will open. Then a really extra-special attraction is (Gage Properties’) full-service marina we’ll have at the north end near Belk, which will have excursion and dining cruises, plus some additional shops and restaurants.

Already this year, we’ve added two more performing songs to the fountains. So now we have four songs that rotate: Whitney Houston’s “Star-Spangled Banner,” Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” and the new songs are Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” … and HCW CEO Rick Huffman’s personal favorite, Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way.”

In the early 1990s, you were involved with the overhaul of New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Any parallels between that project and Branson Landing?

I was actually the vice president of corporate marketing for the Garden. Madison Square Garden is a multi-experience venue … known for its family entertainment, its concerts and all kinds of different things in addition to the Knicks and Rangers. Bottom line, it’s a performance venue. Madison Square Garden at the time of the renovation was a 100-year-old venue and its brand was, “We are the world’s most famous arena.” … The interesting parallel to me, since I’ve lived in Branson for 10 years, is that I’ve always thought of … the whole town as a venue for entertainment, and now the Branson Landing is the newest dimension of Branson – a Branson that’s almost 100 years old as a tourism market.

Tell us about your family and/or spare-time interests.

My husband, Paul, and I are both career professionals. We met at Madison Square Garden. He’s currently working for Skaggs, in sales and service for their medical equipment store. He also is a free-lance writer and producer. We have two Shelties who will turn a year old on Thanksgiving. We love music and movies. I enjoy doing performance voiceover … and working for causes. I’m currently identifying some groups that I may want to get more involved with in my spare time, which is kind of few and far between these days.