Putting History to Work in Georgia

1. Putting History to Work in Georgia

2. 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.

3. Benefits of Heritage Tourism • Revitalization • Tourism • Economic Development • Education

4. Product Developmentin Heritage Tourism

5. Overview • Program development has three elements • Audience • Resources • Evaluation

6. Your Audience • Rising educational levels • Increasing age • Less leisure time • Importance of quality • Advances in global communication • Travel options growing • International Tourism/Global Economy

7. Trends, Facts, and Figures

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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?

12. 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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Forming Partnerships and Alliances

16. “A rising tide lifts all boats.” --John F. Kennedy --Ronald Reagan

17. 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

18. 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

19. Community Focused • Expose the wonderful and complement the resources. SwampGravy, Colquitt County

20. Needs Based • Tourism is about doing what is best for your community. Work together to find out what works best! Historic Train Depot, Thomson

21. 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

22. Work together to develop an attractive package that brings in both new and existing audiences. Collaboration FDR State Park CallawayGardens

23. Planning First step in planning is determining the community’s needs and resources. Little White House Meriwether-Pike Scenic Byway FDR Institute for rehabilitation

24. Purposeful Programming • The goals of your program should be a synthesis of learning and relaxing, all structured around your mission.

25. Timing • A heritage and cultural tourism market will take 3-5 years to develop and produce results

26. 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.

27. 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.