Larry Woods, director of the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau, works for a healthy tourism economy. Photo by Jonathan Nolte

May 8 marked 40 years in Larry Woods’ career in the tourism business.

His career got its humble start as a riverboat driver in San Antonio when he was 14 years old. Now Woods orchestrates bringing visitors to Boerne to fuel the city’s tourist-hungry economy as director of the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau.

He has big plans for the city and intends to focus on its artistic side to bring more visitors to the city.

“I believe that the future of Boerne is arts in general,” he said.

Woods is a San Antonio native and has worked for hotels and resorts on the West Coast, bringing hospitality-based businesses out of financial distress. He moved back to his hometown in 1993 and began working for Tapatio Springs to “turn it around.”

In October 2007, Woods succeeded David Cooksey as the Boerne Convention and Visitors Bureau director. He has a vision to create a “brand” for Boerne tourism advertising that will create immediate identification in the minds of audiences.

Woods circulated a questionnaire among locals to discover what attracts people to Boerne and discovered that the city’s quaintness and charm are chief among characteristics that make Boerne a destination for visitors and residents.

This inspired Boerne’s new gazebo logo and motto: “Experience the History, the Arts, the Charm…”

San Antonio is a major international tourist destination for its theme parks, history, shopping and cuisine. Fredericksburg has long stood as the quintessential Texas Hill Country destination, but Woods said Boerne is catching up with and surpassing its neighbors.

He said that restaurants, shopping and golf in Boerne compare to anything San Antonio has to offer. “We don’t want to be Fredericksburg; there’s already one,” he said. “We are Boerne.”

Houston is currently Boerne’s number one market for tourism, followed by Austin and Corpus Christi.

Woods hopes to get more visitors from the Shops at La Cantera and the Rim on San Antonio’s North Side to make the trip to Boerne as well.

He said that the Visitors Bureau is working closely with the San Antonio Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Boerne Chamber of Commerce and the newly-formed Boerne Business Alliance to fill the next six months with attractive events.

Woods said the next six months are “jam-packed” with events, including an expansion of activities on Second Saturday events.

He said organizers are finalizing a schedule of Christmas activities in December with the help of Marsha Hendler of the San Antonio firm Marketing +, the consultant behind the ever-popular Dickens on the Strand event in Galveston and several Fiesta events in San Antonio.

High fuel and food costs seem to have put a dent in revenue from visitors earlier this year, but Woods said that things are turning back up.

He does not feel that high fuel prices pose a threat to Boerne tourism because the summer vacation season is beginning.