Ways To Promote Tourist Attraction
IA’s Group (Afina & Nur Izzah)
"What do you do for fun around
here?" When visitors come to your town, replies to this question can make
or break their impression of your community. If you want visitors to come back again
— and say nice things about your town to others who might come, too — you need
to have some good answers at the ready.
That means offering things to see and do
that are either unique (one of a kind) or extraordinary (other towns might have
them, but yours is better). Effective community tourism development aims to
give visitors an authentic, high-quality experience that they will remember for
a long time.
As Hank Todd of Hank Todd Solutions Group
in St. Paul says, "Anybody that thinks back, if they've gone on a trip and
had a great experience and found it memorable — their feeling about that place
stays with them a long time."
The core of assessment is an inventory of
existing and potential attractions that might draw tourists to a community.
Places of natural and scenic significance should go on the list, of course.
Count things like lakes, beaches, forests, prairies, and craggy cliffs — as
well as outdoor recreational activities that can be pursued in these natural
settings.
"But don't stop there," warns
Cynthia Messer, Extension educator with the University of Minnesota Tourism
Center. "Attractions also include intangibles, such as friendly service, a
safe environment, clean air or a unique history and/or culture. These assets
are valuable — not just to visitors but to residents, too."
The city of Lindstrom, for example, worked
with the Tourism Center's Tourism Assessment Program (TAP) in 2008 to conduct
an inventory of the town's assets, especially those related to its distinctive
Swedish history and culture. Since then, Lindstrom — located 35 miles north of
the Twin Cities near the Minnesota-Wisconsin border — has been implementing TAP
recommendations to attract more visitors and strengthen its previously
established image as "Little Sweden."
Redefine 'community'
When conducting a tourism inventory, it's
also important to look beyond your town's population sign. Travelers don't
consider political boundaries when they explore, and nearby attractions and
services can be leveraged to improve visitors' experiences.
The Upper Minnesota Valley Regional
Development Commission (RDC) in western Minnesota has taken this advice to
heart. "Not any one of our towns has enough assets or financial resources
to really go it alone, so [we always ask] 'How can we work on something that
benefits everybody?'" says Dawn Hegland, executive director of the
commission.
Because the commission has taken a
collaborative approach to tourism development, visitors to the five-county
region can have experiences that are unique to Southwest Minnesota. They can
visit local farms and orchards. They can meander down highways and by-ways on a
self-guided tour of more than 30 local artists' studios. The RDC worked with
the Tourism Center on these agri-tourism and art crawl projects, which expand
tourism well beyond the boundaries of any one town.
With a broad perspective of community,
start counting the things in your area that will appeal to visitors, including:
§ Beautiful or intriguing scenes in nature,
including geology and wildlife;
§ Fun things to do outdoors;
§ Places to get to know local history and
culture;
§ Chances to see and interact with local art
and artists;
§ Festivals and events that celebrate local
history, culture, harvest time, foods, music, or celebrities;
§ Built attractions, such as monuments,
amusement parks, zoos, or theme parks; and
§ Local businesses and retail stores where
visitors can shop or be pampered.
Some amenities function as the primary
reason visitors come to an area. For example, bed and breakfast inns are often
an attraction, as well as a lodging choice. Even transportation modes can
attract visitors. Bicycle and snowmobile trails, as well as unusual means of
transport — such as ferryboats, carriage rides, or excursion trains — are a few
examples.
"You really need to put yourself in
your visitors' shoes," Messer says. "Why would they want to come to
your community? What would be appealing or interesting enough to get them to
travel your way? And what would make them stay awhile longer?"
Involve residents
As you count assets, don't forget that the
people who live in your town can help. Involving them in conducting an
inventory can increase the level of support that tourism development gets from
the community.
Everyone in town can help with
brainstorming. Reach out to local residents from a variety of incomes,
ethnicities and ages to volunteer to help identify attractions. And don't
forget to include youth and young adults in tourism planning. They are the
future, and they often have the same sense of adventure that tourists do.
Residents have inside information about
things to see and do that might appeal to visitors — even "everyday"
things, such as church dinners and the Main Street café where everybody goes
for lunch. Residents also know all about the local economy, which can be a
source of experience attractions — such as tours of farms and farmers' markets,
manufacturing plants, mines, cheese factories, wineries and more.
Farm tours and other agriculture-based
experiences often have special appeal to urban residents, because, as Dawn
Hegland notes, "A lot of people aren't connected to where their food comes
from. Many people have moved from the country to the city and don't really have
connections to farms anymore."
Visitors to the Cannon River Winery in
Cannon Falls get a close-up connection to where their wine is coming from by
picking their own grapes, then following them into the winery to see where they
ultimately will be bottled. "People take a lot of ownership in that,"
says winery owner Maureen Maloney. "And they want to know what other local
things are available to do, too."
More aspects
There are more aspects of assessing
tourism potential too numerous to get into here. For example, after conducting
an inventory of attractions, you will need to evaluate and prioritize them
based on their quality, authenticity, uniqueness or extraordinary value,
ability to generate multiple activities, and their drawing power. Extension
resources like those listed below can help you through this process.
And remember — as you develop and promote
your attractions, always consider things from the visitor's viewpoint. That
way, you will have some good answers when visitors ask, "What do you do
around here for fun?"
Learn more
Tourism development starts with quality
information. Extension and the Tourism Center can help with educational
programs, consultations and research. To learn more:
§ Purchase the Community Tourism Development Manual, which applies theory to real life —
delivering the essentials of planning, developing and managing tourist
destinations from a community standpoint. Based on extensive research, this
250-page manual takes you step-by-step through the process of developing local
tourism with narrative text, case studies and worksheets.
§ Talk to your local Extension educator about helping your community
discover its tourism potential through the Tourism Assessment Program.
Source : https://www.extension.umn.edu/community/news/tourism-assets.html
