Putting History to Work in Georgia

What is Heritage and Cultural Tourism? Heritage and Cultural Tourism is

travel directed toward experiencing the arts, history and special character of a place in and exciting, informative way.

Benefits of Heritage Tourism Revitalization Tourism Economic Development Education

Product Developmentin Heritage Tourism

Overview

Program development has three elements•Audience•Resources •Evaluation

Your Audience

Rising educational levels Increasing age Less leisure time Importance of quality Advances in global

communication Travel options growing International

Tourism/Global Economy

Trends, Facts, and Figures

Traveler Demographics 2004

77% of Trips taken were destination overnight trips

The average travel party size was 2.1 persons

27% of the trips included children The average expenditures on an overnight

trip in the state was $311 26% of people shopped while on their trip 80% of visitors traveled by automobile*Information from the TIA Preliminary Economic Impact Numbers 2004

Why is heritage tourism important?

Historic sites: connect Americans with their heritage

unlike anything else can. connect with people around the world. generate an emotional response. make visitors feel enriched and

enthralled. have unparalleled credibility as a

source of information.

So why is historic site visitation down?

Baby boomers want: to relax, have less stress, spa atmosphere, night activities

Baby boomers have less time to spend visiting sites

Paradoxical Situation According to the 2003 TIA heritage tourism

is booming with a 13% increase between 1996 and 2003

81% of travelers included a historic site on their travel itinerary

However, directors of historic places like Monticello, Mt. Vernon, and Colonial Williamsburg have noticed significant decline in visitors since 2000

So how can museums re-invent themselves?

Factors Contributing to Decline in Visitation

The effect of national events such as the tragedy of September 11th, anthrax scare, and war in Iraq

A struggling economy Record amounts of snow, ice, and rain A season of hurricanes Exorbitant gas prices

A Plethora of Choices Heritage sites must recognize time

constraints and the competition for peoples’ time.

There are thousands of heritage sites across the country, which leaves sites to compete with other leisure activities in the area such as beaches and theme parks.

The hard truth: We are just another attraction to many travelers. We must make ourselves distinctive, alluring , and yet still authentic.

Changes in Travel Patterns Half of all travel now takes place on the weekends American’s planning time for vacations has

diminished rapidly. Joan Mercuri, president and CEO of the Frank

Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust in Chicago, noted that at the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio and the Robie House 40% of visitors planned their visit the same day or one or two days ahead.

Making historic sites accessible when travelers decide they want to visit is challenging for sites that rely on volunteers or have limited hours of operation.

Forming Partnerships and Alliances

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”

--John F. Kennedy--Ronald Reagan

Resources

How to make the most of your resources Focus on authenticity and quality Preserve and protect your community’s

resources Make sites come alive through their stories Find a fit between your community and its

tourism needs Collaborate

Authenticity

The real stories of your area are worth telling and decidedly better than most any fiction!

Black History Civil War Performance, Tullie Smith House,Atlanta History Center

Community Focused

Expose the wonderful and complement the resources.

Swamp Gravy, Colquitt County

Needs Based

Tourism is about doing what is best for your community. Work together to find out what works best!

Historic TrainDepot, Thomson

Learning and your resources

What is experiential learning? What are the types of learning styles? What are some themes that can be used?

e.g, Architecture Military Agriculture Ethnicity

Collaboration Work together to

develop an attractive package that brings in both new and existing audiences.

Callaway Gardens

FDR State Park

Planning

Little White House

FDR Institute for rehabilitation

Meriwether-Pike Scenic Byway

First step in planningis determining the community’s needs and resources.

Purposeful Programming The goals of your

program should be a synthesis of learning and relaxing, all structured around your mission.

Timing A heritage and cultural

tourism market will take 3-5 years to develop and produce results

Evaluating the Program

Gather information to feed back into the planning process

Meet regularly with attractions and anchor organization to get feedback

Include a comment card in the program packet or a self-mailer survey

Using a BLOG to collect comments.

Summary Add value to the site by creating a new

exhibit, new program or new event that may bring in new visitors or bring back old visitors.

Stress cooperation not competition.. Creating partnerships is essential for

increasing revenue, enhancing marketing programs, and reaching new audiences. Historic sites must keep reinventing and accessing.