Is Tourism the Answer?

March 21, 2011 Leave a Comment

Last fall I participated in two outstanding conferences: the Montana Economic Development Summit and Montana Main Street. Both drew dynamic speakers and provided dozens of opportunities for community leaders, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the public sector to network and brainstorm.

Tourism and what it means as part of an overall economic development strategy was a key component. As I listened to the conversations, it struck me that no one questioned the appropriateness of aggressively pursuing tourism dollars. No one was asking the fundamental question: Is tourism right for our community? Keep reading

Filed under Main Street, Montana, Tourism Tagged with , , , , ,

Gowalla, wherefour(square) art thou?

August 15, 2010 3 Comments

Lots of buzz lately about Gowalla vs foursquare so I signed up and downloaded the apps. But wait, I have a BB Storm and Gowalla’s BB app (beta) doesn’t work on the Storm. Seriously? How is that possible?

So far, my emails to customer service and shout outs on Twitter have gone unanswered – that’s disappointing. I’m particularly interested in the trips feature after seeing the one  Sheila Scarborough created for Round Rock, TX. On the website it looks promising as a new dimension to tourism, guess I’ll have to wait a while longer to test drive it.

I was more successful with foursquare – sort of. Foursquare is just emerging out here in Montana. There aren’t many places to check-in yet, which is fine since the positioning signals aren’t quite accurate. For example, I was at Carroll College and the places that showed up for check-in were more than a mile away. I did a search and the college came up but foursquare told me I was “too far away to check in”. Really?
Keep reading

Filed under Social Media, Tourism Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Communities with a “Sense of Place”

August 12, 2010 3 Comments

We’ve all seen it – town after town where it’s hard to differentiate one from the other. The stores are the same, the restaurants are the same and if you were blindfolded and taken to one of them, it would be difficult for you to tell where you were – to find characteristics that define that individual community and set it apart from all the others. But I know those gems are out there – in fact, my theory is that communities that have retained their sense of place are more prevalent than we think. They still have locally-owned shops and restaurants and they don’t look or feel like everywhere else. Here’s your challenge: Look around – what are the communities near you or that you’ve visited that have tenaciously hung onto their identity? Keep reading

Filed under Montana, Tourism Tagged with , , , , ,

Montana vs Chicago – a Smackdown?

June 27, 2010 Leave a Comment

Having lived in both Chicago and Montana I understand and appreciate their differences. Montana – land of ranchers, small towns, wildlife, spectacular mountains, clear streams and wide open vistas. Chicago – home to upscale and abundant shopping and restaurants, Wrigley Field, blues and jazz, outstanding culture and museums.

Both excel in distinctive ways, so why all the trash talk? Keep reading

Filed under Branding, Chicago, Marketing, Montana, Tourism Tagged with , , , ,

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