Develop A “Secret Sauce”
Enticing ways to attract tourists to your community
By Silvana Clark
If your community is in a major city such as Seattle, Austin, or Washington, D.C., it’s easy to attract tourists to parks and special events. Who wouldn’t want to visit the Space Needle or tour the White House holiday decorations? But what if you live in a smaller community, far from attractions that draw the attention of tourists and travel writers?
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / DallasPics
Take a tip from the following places that have capitalized on unique ways to draw visitors to their communities. The ideas are practical and don’t require something as ambitious as building another St. Louis Arch.
A Special Day
Can your community create its own “special day” or perhaps tie in with another obscure holiday, such as National Sandwich Day or National Where’s Waldo Day? Check out Chases Calendar of Events at https://rowman.com/Page/Chases for a listing of hundreds of fun holidays and special events.
The Roanoke Star
Sometimes you don’t need a big festival to draw a crowd. Perhaps your community has the world’s largest rocking chair or unique fountains in your park. Capitalize on that. The city of Roanoke, in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, attracts hundreds of visitors because of its incredible, historic, 100-foot neon star. The Roanoke Star, situated atop Mill Mountain, lights up every evening from dusk to dawn and can be seen from 60 miles away. Visitors can drive, hike, or bike to the star. When people arrive, they discover over nine miles of trails for mountain biking and hiking. www.visitroanokeva.com
A Float Display
Ever wonder what happens to parade floats after a parade? Most of them are disassembled to be reused at a later date. The Hargrove Company in Shenandoah County, Va., displays floats from events such as the Rose Parade, Miss America Pageant Parades, and the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parades.
https://shenandoahcaverns.com/aboutus.html
Goose Day
Don’t have any floats to display? Then create your own holiday. Find something with roots in the community or create something that can grow roots with community support. For two centuries, Goose Day has been a local tradition in the Juniata River Valley, Penn. Legend has it that if you eat goose on Michaelmas Day, (September 29), you will never want for money! The public enjoys eating roast goose, sipping Goose-tinis, getting a Goose manicure, and proudly wearing an “I’ve been goosed!” sticker. If that doesn’t keep you busy, participate in the Goose Day Road Rally, a scavenger hunt throughout the county. This event has grown in popularity, providing fun for people of all ages. (Goose-tinis aren’t available to kids!) www.juniatarivervalley.org
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / silkenphotography
Shell Museum
Does your community have a unique, lesser-known museum that you can promote? Sanibel Island, Fla., the shelling capital of the world, has the only museum solely dedicated to shells and the mollusks that make them. Sanibel’s local mission has become global. The museum preserves, cares for, and breeds these animals and shares them with the world. https://sanibel-island.sanibel-captiva.org/list/category/museums
SPARK Museum Of Electrical Inventions
Bellingham, Wash., a city located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., draws locals and tourists from around the country to its SPARK Museum of Electrical Inventions. The museum offers visitors a first-hand introduction to the wonderful world of electricity and radio, providing every opportunity to discover, test, and be amazed. www.sparkmuseum.org
You might think, “Who wants to come to a museum that displays shells or old radios?” You would be surprised! There are entire directories of off-the-wall museums that attract tourists from around the country. Choose from the Hammer Museum in Alaska, the Busy Bear Button Museum, or the National Banana Museum in California. Find an underserved, unique museum in your community and tie it to a park tour or a special park event. There are even people who blog about the “weird” museums they’ve visited!
Photo: © Can Stock Photo / jdwfoto
Ice Cream Trail
Still can’t think of a way to attract more tourists to a community? Allegany County in Pennsylvania has a tasty idea. Many of the county towns are on a major interstate that connects Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. People make “pit stops” for food, fuel, and restroom breaks, and then keep going. A year ago, the Allegany County Ice Cream trail was created to highlight nine places to buy delicious ice cream. Each designated ice cream stop has a unique and distinctive way to make its ice cream stand out. No chain restaurants are included! The ice cream trail has raised awareness among visitors and locals, and has generated revenue for the mom-and-pop operations. https://www.mdmountainside.com/blog/allegany-county-ice-cream-trail
Let these ideas be a stepping stone to finding creative ways to attract tourists to your community. Hopefully, once they arrive, guests will discover other parks and recreation facilities and programs, so they return over and over.
Silvana Clark is a speaker, author, and brand ambassador who travels to impart her knowledge of camps and programming to agencies worldwide. Reach her at www.silvanaclark.com.