Is Tourism the Answer?

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

Work with what you’ve got

Endless miles of open highway . . . long stretches when the only vehicle you can see is the one you’re driving. The scenery is interesting, it may even be spectacular – for an hour – and then the tedium sets in.

The mileposts flash by but it doesn’t feel like you’re getting any closer to your destination. You need a restroom and there isn’t a town, a rest area or even a tree in sight.Your legs are cramping up and the music on your iPod is boring. Of course, this doesn’t really matter because your traveling companion’s snores have been drowning it out for the past 100 miles. Keep reading

Communities with a “Sense of Place”

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

Join the conversation- #TNI #tourismchat

Great topics and ideas today on Twitter  - #TNI and #tourismchat. I lurked for a few weeks before jumping in – I was mesmerized by the volume and quality of information and simply forgot to participate. If you’ve never experienced one of these Twitter chats, be sure you’ve got your coffee, iced tea or Dr. Pepper for reinforcement (might need some chocolate as well) and fasten your seatbelt.

These jam-packed “conversations” remind me of when I get together with my sisters and daughters. Innocent bystanders risk whiplash trying to follow any single thread, but somehow we all know what we’re talking about and what everyone else is talking about even though it’s happening simultaneously and at warp speed. Keep reading

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