RURAL TOURISM

1
RURAL TOURISM
2
TOURISM VS ATTRACTION

• Low cost (thousands)
• Immediate impact
• Low infrastructure needs
• Helps existing businesses
• Tourism is a high growth industry
• Non-polluting

• High cost (millions)
• Decades before impact
• High infrastructure needs
• Dependent on outside businesses coming in
• Manufacturing industry is shrinking
• Many are polluters

3
CONTEXT

• 50 of residents arent HS graduates
• 24 live below poverty line
• 31 of children below poverty line
• Oldest population in nation
• Pick your statistic

4
TOURISM CHALLENGES

• Lack of tourism infrastructure
• Lack of amenities
• Lack of entertainment
• Remote location
• Attitude about the area
• Not enough things for people to see and do
• Undeveloped tourism sites

5
TOURISM ASSETS

• HISTORY
• Hatfield McCoy Feud
• Matewan Massacre Mine Wars
• Labor History
• Coal History
• Railroad History
• Ancient History Geology

6
OTHER TOURISM ASSETS

• Scenery
• Country Atmosphere
• Mountains
• Road Access
• People

7
1999

• Zero Tourism

8
2000

• Hatfield Cemetery Walking Tour
• Hatfield McCoy Driving Tour
• 1st Hatfield McCoy Reunion Festival
• Matewan Massacre Re-enactment (play)
• Terror of the Tug/Smilin Sid (film)
• Hatfield McCoy Trails open
• Moonshine Hill Climb

9
2001

• Previous Activities Continue
• Delbarton Jamboree Begins
• First Hatfield McCoy Bus Tour
• The Devil and Ranel McCoy (play)
• Hatfield McCoy Trails Research

10
2002-2003

• Previous activities continue
• Feud film completed
• Tourism Investment Fund created
• Matewan Depot Museum completed
• Delbarton Opry House completed
• Hatfield McCoy Reunion Festival brings in over
  100,000

11
2004

• Previous activities continue
• Mine Wars film completed
• WV/KY Feud development partnership
• Hatfield McCoy Feud sites upgraded
• Fairs and Festivals impact project
• Hatfield McCoy Reunion Festival brings in over
  200,000
• Mamie Thurman play begun

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Moonshine Hill Climb

• AMA Sanctioned
• ESPN Coverage
• 1 Pro 3 Amateur Races Each Year
• Set national records for riders in 2001-04
• Site of 2002-04 National Amateur Championships

15
TOURISM DEVELOPMENTMETHODOLOGY

• ID tourism assets options
• Choose a tourism asset to develop
• SWOT your tourism activity
• Develop a strategy for overcoming challenges
• Create a strategy for developing the activity

16
TOURISM DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGY

• Define your market
• Develop a marketing strategy
• Resource development
• (People, money, skills, infrastructure etc)
• Build community support
• Rinse and repeat
• JUST DO IT

17
LESSONS LEARNED

• Dont complain about what you dont have. Focus
  on what you do have.
• Success breeds success.
• Think Big. Start Small.
• It will probably take longer than you think.
• Prioritize.
• Community participation is vital.
• You dont need everybody, just the right bodies.

18
(No Transcript)
19
QUALITY CONTROL

• HIRE EXPERIENCE
• HIRE PRACTICIONERS NOT JUST EXPERTS
• GET WORK SAMPLES
• GET REFERENCES
• RFPs

20
Request For Proposals

• Defined
• RFPs are a formal invitation to submit a
  written proposal that meets your requirements for
  a project.

21
RFP BENEFITS

• Increases odds youll get what you want
• Helps organize your thoughts
• Lets you see a vendors work ahead of time
• You find out if vendors can meet deadlines
• You find out if vendors do their homework
• RFPs may give you new ideas
• Poor RFP may indicate poor work

22
OTHER BENEFITS

• You spell out your requirements ahead of time and
  you dont have to pay the vendor till they arent
  met. (Staged payments, changes by mutual consent)
• Creates milestones so you dont just get a final
  product at the end that you may not like.

23
AN RFP FORMAT

• Information from the Vendor
• Detailed narrative description of what they plan
  to do and how they will meet your needs.
• Drawings, plans, synopses etc.
• Work samples
• List prior applicable experience contact info
• List of applicable references

24
RFP FORMAT CONT.

• Information to the Vendor
• Description of problem or need
• List of your constraints requirements
• List of reference resources
• Pictures, schematics, source documents
• Deadlines (for submission and award)
• Payment amount
• Your contact info

25
DOWNSIDE

• Requires work on front end
• You may have to pay a bit more
• You have to do what you say youll do

26
FIND YOUR ASSETS