Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33520056
06/06/02
So Your Community Wants Travel/Tourism?
Archived Document: This Extension bulletin is no longer
available from the publishing State and may contain
outdated information.
Source: Minnesota
Authors: Simonson, Lawrence; Koth, Barbara; Kreag, Glenn
ID: CD-BU-3443
Year: 1988
Travel/tourism presently ranks as Minnesota's third largest
industry and generated in excess of $5 billion in travel
expenditures, more than a $1 billion payroll and some
108,000 jobs in 1986. (1) This importance in the Minnesota
economy parallels growth in the travel industry nationwide.
More than 150 million U.S. residents and over 20 million
persons from other countries travel annually within the
U.S.
There are three kinds of travelers: pleasure travelers we
know as tourists, people traveling for personal reasons,
and business travelers. The language is confusing. For
example, the U.S. Census of Travel describes a tourist as
anyone traveling 100 miles or more from home. It is
becoming more common to talk, instead, about visitors
anyone who travels. In this publication, there is no need
to sort out recreational, personal purposes, or business
pursuits as reasons for travel. The cash registers of your
community do not attempt to make that distinction either.
It is more important to consider the service to, and
economic benefit from, all who visit your community
regardless of distance or travel purpose.
Nearly Every Community Could Increase Its Income From
Serving Visitors
All communities have visitors and businesses to serve them.
The amount of travel income generated and the scope of
visitors' services available depend on many factors
including location, travel routes, and most important, the
types of attractions that persuade travelers to come and
stay, use local services, and thereby contribute to the
community.
Most Minnesota communities could increase their visitor
industry substantially. This is true even where
travel/tourism is now an important element or the most
dominant economic sector, since few communities really get
it all together for serving visitors. In outlining a
strategy to expand the visitor industry, this publication
describes:
- Impressions and perceptions about the travel/tourism
industry
- The components of travel/tourism
- Benefits and costs of the visitor industry
- An action plan to get going to attract and host travelers
FOOTNOTE
(1) 1986: most recent figures available.
Community Leaders Need to Understand Travel/Tourism
Many communities fail to reach their travel/tourism
potential because the industry is widely misunderstood.
Some of the following situations are common:
- A visitor is thought of as a unique kind of person,
but actually visitors are just ordinary people, away from
home for a variety of reasons. Remember, any time you are
out of your home community, you are a visitor.
- Good data about travel/tourism are difficult to
obtain, since separating sales to residents from sales to
visitors is difficult.
- The idea of a visitor industry is sometimes hard to
grasp, since travel produces some intangibles that cannot
be seen or felt. Actually, travel produces services and
life experiences that are essential to our well-being and
mental health; furthermore, it provides jobs, profits, and
tax base just like any other industry.
- Many think only of pleasure travelers as tourists and
fail to consider business travelers. While the distinction
is useful for some purposes, it is not realistic when
assessing visitor-generated income. Most travelers need
food, lodging, entertainment, various commodities
regardless of travel purpose.
Much travel is multipurpose. For example: a business person
travels to a community 200 miles away to transact financial
business. A spouse comes along to visit friends during the
day. Later, they see a play and go out to dinner. Consider
an individual who travels for a Friday business meeting but
stays for the weekend to attend professional baseball
games. Or a vacation traveler could plan a travel route to
contact an important business associate.
In each instance, the key consideration to the community is
this: These travelers are attracted by the community's
array of businesses, government headquarters, amenities,
shopping, and personal services. The community has
developed a unique set of opportunities to induce travel
and the purchase of local goods and services by visitors.
MARKET LINKAGE DESTINATION
GEOGRAPHIC AREAS TRANSPORTATION ATTRACTOR
Instate Auto Rail Friends
Other states Air Water Recreation
International Bus Business
Shopping
Personal services
CONSUMER TYPES COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Preferences Promotion Lodging
Income Evaluation Food
Travel means Correspondence Entertainment
Travel pattern Trade and commerce Travel
Figure 1. Basic Tourism Model
The Overall Travel/Tourism System: Destination, Market,
Linkages
Travel/tourism is intricate, requiring the host community
to pay attention to three major components (figure 1 ).
1) The destination area - where travelers go. Every
community is a destination area for certain travelers. The
destination area is made up of the travel attractors, or
the reasons why people travel, and hospitality services,
the means whereby the community provides goods and services
to the visitor and generates income from these sales.
2) The market - the people who travel. The market can
be described by their home location, various demographics
such as income and age, their reasons for travel, activity
or lifestyle patterns, mode of travel, where they stay, or
by other service needs.
3) The linkage the connections between the market and
the destination area, including an
information/communication system, transportation, and
research.
Travel Attractors Define a Destination Area
To have a travel industry there must be a reason for people
to come to your community. Each area has its own unique
resources for attracting travelers: these capabilities can
be developed and improved. Today's market of multi-purpose
travel requires attention to a multiple set of appeals. The
more a community offers visitors in shopping, business,
aesthetic qualities, and things to see and do, the better
its opportunities for travel income. Here are several major
reasons for traveling to specific locales: see if your
community can use these assets to expand its travel
industry.
Outdoor Recreation.
Many Minnesotans might name outdoor recreation as the main
element of the state's visitor industry Outdoor recreation
is given as a desirable activity by 89 percent of all U.S.
adults and accounts for more than 480 million annual
recreation hours by Minnesotans.
Outdoor recreation activities vary from the use of
motorized equipment such as snowmobiles and power boats, to
canoeing, hiking, cross-country skiing, and sailing; and
from leisure pursuits such as hunting and fishing, to
appreciative activities like nature photography. Winona's
birdwatching brochure is an example of one community's
appeal to a specific outdoor recreation market with
potentially significant economic impact. Personal
expenditures for outdoor recreation may range from
thousands of dollars annually for owning a second home or
recreational vehicle, to minimal amounts for an afternoon
hike near home. Outdoor recreation as an attractor requires
providing visitors with access to high quality resources to
realize full travel/tourism potential.
Sightseeing and Entertainment. Sightseeing and
entertainment account for 13 percent of those traveling in
the U.S. and 8 percent of those traveling in Minnesota, but
varies widely across the state. For example, 30 percent of
all trips to the North Shore of Lake Superior are for
sightseeing, which can include viewing natural wonders and
scenery, wildlife, architecture, cultural, and historic
areas. Entertainment may mean going to sporting events, to
the theater, to musical performances, to art or history
museums, and to other kinds of performances and activities.
A stay in a hotel or motel may in itself be the
entertainment attraction. To illustrate, Shakopee has
become an entertainment center for the Twin Cities by
developing a concentration of attractions like a race
track, an amusement park, a major fall festival, and a
bingo facility.
Community Events or Festivals. These may be celebrations or
highlights of some local or area activity built on a fact
of history, or based on a natural resource. Just glancing
through the Minnesota Explorer newspaper (Minnesota Office
of Tourism publication), it is possible to find special
events created around harvest time (Maple Syrup Festival in
Annandale), foods (Rutabaga Festival in Askov), fish
(Walker's Eelpout Festival), physical fitness (numerous
bike rides), and music (Polka Days at Ironworld), to name
just a few. These festivals can reinforce other attractions
or be the main draw for travelers. They can fill slack
times of year, distribute visitors over a longer season,
and introduce newcomers to the town and its offerings.
Celebrations may primarily be intended as an event for
local people, for visitors, or most often, for both.
Business and Convention (Conference) Travel. Business
and convention travel in the U.S. accounts for about 14
percent of all person-trips. (2) Modern business depends
on travel as a source of supply, a means of sales outlets,
and a way of obtaining technicians and consultants for
various kinds of professional services. Often travel is
generated because the headquarters of operations ranging
from government agencies to business corporations are in a
given community. Attracting conventions depends heavily
on the community's hospitality services and its amenities,
food, lodging and entertainment. Mankato, billing itself as
a "Wellness Capital," has made a name for itself in
attracting professional groups to a community that stresses
healthy cuisine and fitness facilities.
FOOTNOTE:(2) A person-trip is defined as one-person making
one trip to a point at least 100 miles from home. Two
people traveling together are counted as two person-trips.
Population: Visits from Friends and Relatives. The largest
proportion of all person-trips (2) in the U.S. (38 percent)
is to visit friends and relatives. The population base of
many communities is therefore an important travel
attractor.
Travelers who visit friends are often ignored because they
are perceived to be economically unimportant to the host
community. However, the activity patterns of people when
they visit as well as when they have guests contradict this
assumption. Often special activities such as going to the
theater, eating out, and shopping await friends' visits. A
study in the International Falls area found that 10 percent
of the people eating at restaurants there were primarily
"visiting friends and relatives." A Duluth study found that
out-of-town travelers visiting family and friends spent an
above-average dollar amount in the Duluth- Superior area,
in comparison to other groups. For a community to achieve
the most from this travel/tourism attractor, it is
important for the resident population to have good
information about the community, be proud of it, and be
willing to share it and show it off. Recent promotional
events such as Duluth's Reunion or Tennessee's year-long
Homecoming are organized ways to encourage these family and
friendship visits.
Other Personal Business. Personal travel includes going to
school and attending to personal legal affairs, finance, or
health concerns. The better equipped the community is to
provide these services, the more likely it is to supply
other travel services to those who visit.
Shopping. Shopping can be considered a trade center
function of a community. While shopping can be both
personal or business-related, it is treated separately here
to emphasize that the better the wholesale, retail, and
supply functions of a given community, the more likely it
is to generate travel and trade with other communities.
Studies in Duluth found that visitors who said shopping was
a major reason for their trip, spent nearly three times
more than the average out-of-town traveler. Travelers are
definitely a part of the profit picture for retail
businesses.
The potential for shopping includes sales opportunities
designed especially for visitors-art, crafts, sporting
goods, gifts, and souvenirs, as well as standard items.
Where possible, unique items produced locally should be
available as these contribute directly to the income of the
community. The growth of crafts cooperatives that sell
directly to visitors is evidence of this trend.
Travel Node. Many people travel to a community simply
because they cannot avoid it - the train, bus, or plane
goes there, or the road leads through. Whether or not a
community capitalizes on this travel node function depends
on its impulse appeal and its ability to offer readily
available services.
Drawing travelers from a nearby highway is not automatic.
The fact that 10,000 automobiles a day pass by is no
guarantee any will stop. Studies in Duluth illustrate the
problem dramatically. It was found that 30 percent of the
through traffic did not stop in Duluth, a city of 100,000
population. Services were available, but did the traveler
know about them? And were they readily accessible?
Overcoming these conditions requires real ingenuity, as the
towns along Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota have found
in trying to differentiate their appeal.
Destinations Need Hospitality Facilities and Services
Together with attractions, hospitality services are an
essential component of a successful travel/tourism
destination area. Visitors must be able to meet their daily
needs, as well as special requirements, while away from
home. Include restaurants and lodging in this category, as
well as auto repair and service stations, gift shops, many
retail establishments, groceries, and many of the
entertainment and recreation operations. Much of the income
generated by travelers is spent at these hospitality
businesses, many of which are relatively small, single
-family operations. Here are some guidelines for developing
adequate hospitality services:
- Hospitality operations need to offer variety to fit
the changing demand for lodging, food, and other services.
- Quality in hospitality offerings is an absolute must.
Personal service may be an attraction in itself, as bed and
breakfasts have demonstrated.
- Hospitality services usually are a part of the
private enterprise sector. Although private business is not
directly responsive to public decision making, the
community can encourage and influence development through
public education about investment opportunities, assisting
current businesses to be profitable, and by developing
visitor guidelines that spell out hospitality service needs
and priorities.
- Hospitality services, such as resorts and
campgrounds, are as much a part of travel appeal as lakes
and woods: they provide essential access to outdoor
recreation.
Identify Potential Markets
Who will buy the products your community is marketing? One
certain way to fail is to try to please everyone. Instead
focus on target markets that are strongly attracted to
opportunities available in the community. A target market
is a group of individuals sharing common characteristics,
toward whom marketing efforts can be directed. Target
markets can be defined by several factors - geography,
characteristics like age, sex and income, and behavior. The
publication Community Travel and Tourism Marketing listed
in the bibliography outlines specific methods for
identifying potential markets.
The process of dividing the total market into high-
potential target markets is called market segmentation and
involves these steps:
- Identifying and describing the different segments
that make up the total market.
- Evaluating the economic potential of each segment.
- Focusing on one or more market segments.
Linkages: Connecting the Community and the Target
There are three types of linkages. The information/
communication link is the means whereby communities and
visitors exchange information. Advertising is a part of
communication, as is visitor feedback about the
destination. Marketing programs, weather information, road
signs, and personal communications by mail or telephone,
visitor information centers and public interpretation of an
area's history are among the diverse actions that help a
consumer learn more about a place, and help a community
gain information about a potential visitor. The end product
of this communication should be a destination that meets
traveler needs and therefore, increased visits.
The transportation linkage provides the physical means for
travelers to get from home to the destination. This covers
every means of travel including air, highway, rail, and
water. The costs of travel in terms of time, effort, money,
and safety can give a destination an edge in competition
for visitors. However, the stronger the attraction base,
the easier it is for a community to overcome transportation
disadvantages.
Finally, research information flows between the community
and markets to advise the destination area of changing
conditions in the travel/tourism marketplace.
The Impacts Pros and Cons of Developing Travel/Tourism
Your community has little choice whether visitors will
come; travel is inherent in today's world. But you can
influence to what degree you develop and take control of
travel as an industry. Community leaders need to consider
how the community can take advantage of the positive
benefits and reduce the negative effects of trave/tourism.
Pros - Community Benefits from the Travel Industry
Income from Travelers. Travel/tourism provides income to
the host community. It may offer a chance for a town that
relies on a single industry to diversify its economic base
or hope to communities in decline. To realize income from
visitors, the community must have something to sell. The
opportunity is illustrated in Minnesota by Cook County in
northeastern Minnesota, where overnight lodging can
accommodate more people than live permanently in the
county.
Motels, resorts, or campgrounds do not gain at the expense
of other community segments. Industry studies consistently
have found that visitor purchases impact all segments of
the community. Nearly all retailers gain directly from
tourists. In 1986, the Minnesota travel dollar expenditure
breakdown was:
Lodging.......................... .15
Food and Beverage................. .24
Transportation.................... .44
Entertainment .................... .09
Retail purchases.................. .08
Total ............................. $ 1.00
Travel brings in new outside dollars to a community. Money
spent by visitors filters through the local economy; much
of it remains there. In addition to gains from direct
visitor sales, many other community elements gain
indirectly by supplying the businesses that make these
direct sales. This re-spending of travel-generated income
is called the multiplier effect.
Travel/Tourism Jobs. There are an estimated 108,000 jobs
directly related to travel in Minnesota. Many of these
paychecks compare favorably with employment in other
industries. However, the average pay in the food and
lodging services is low, and some jobs are part-time. But
a positive aspect of this situation is that part-time or
seasonal jobs often match employment needs of youth and
second wage-earners in the family.
The number of jobs in the industry is generally stable
because travel is such a major part of current lifestyles
that it can weather many kinds of economic downturns. If
energy supplies become scarce, travel patterns may change
to more recreation close to home, but the emphasis on the
personal rewards of travel appear to guarantee expansion in
the years ahead. Evidence for this continued travel growth
comes from the U.S. Travel Data Center: studies indicate
person-trips in the U.S. continue to increase.
Participation rates for outdoor recreation activities as
reported in Americans Outdoors also continue to increase
rapidly.
Tax Dollars to Government. All levels of government benefit
from travel/tourism tax dollars. A visitor pays sales, use,
gasoline, cigarette, liquor, and entertainment taxes. As a
consumer, the visitor helps pay real estate, business, and
income taxes because these are paid by business firms from
customer revenue. This makes the traveler a major tax
contributor and usually not a major tax consumer.
Diversity and Quality of Community Facilities. A major
visitor industry may result in swimming pools, tennis
courts, high quality food services, increased shopping
selections, and evening entertainment largely financed by
travelers, but also available for residents. Without
visitors the community might not be able to support these
facilities or services that benefit everyone. Some
communities initiate community events and pageants and put
their heritage as well as current industry or resources on
display.
Frequently these community improvement activities result in
greater local pride. Tourism helps a town become more
attractive because to draw and satisfy visitors, the
community must be visually appealing.
Attracting Industry and Investors. Many kinds of industry
prefer to locate and operate in relatively high-amenity
areas. A community that maintains its resource quality and
offers high quality service designed to attract visitors
also may find that it is an attractive location for
industries.
Visitors are also potential investors in a community. A
visitor who likes a community may choose to relocate a
business there, purchase property, or become a permanent
resident. New blood and investment stimulate the
community's economic growth.
Cons - Community Costs and Liabilities from the
Travel Industry
Conflicts with Visitors. Travel/tourism means that
strangers will come to your community. Their activities may
conflict with residents' activities. Visitor-resident
competition for local services and facilities, on the
highway, in food services, and at local attractions may be
one of the most serious negative aspects of travel/tourism.
For example, hunting is a big part of the local lifestyle
in many parts of Minnesota, meaning that conflicts over
resource use must be negotiated before hunting is promoted
as a primary visitor attraction. Careful design and
community planning for visitor services and access can do
much to minimize visitor-resident conflicts.
Internal Community Conflict. In some communities a
"travel/tourism industry" versus "rest-of-the-community"
feeling develops into antagonism. The entire community
should be kept informed and, as much as possible, involved
in local decisions and activities in the travel/tourism
sector to prevent a "we" vs "the" attitude from developing.
Environmental Quality Concerns. People-pressure on local
resources and services may cause environmental
deterioration and pollution. Will these pressures
eventually destroy the qualities that now attract people?
Job Quality. Many entry level, travel-related jobs are
seasonal and low-paying.
Added Pressure on Public Services. Travelers increase the
demands on many public services: roads and streets,
parking, water, sewer. trash, restrooms, health, and
safety. Will the tax revenues from visitors offset the
additional expense to government? In addition, operational
costs occur once the tourism program grows to a size and
stature that requires formal administration. Again,
consider financial costs and benefits from these added
investments in the travel/tourism industry.
How To Get Going
Many communities can build travel/tourism into a major
industry. It takes many of the same inputs required
development of most other industries:
- A vision of the potential.
- Community understanding and support created through
information and education.
- Leadership in securing new investments, both public
and private.
- Management of human, financial, and natural
resources.
- Building of the community's image in the minds of
travelers.
What Can You Do? Where Do You Start?
Begin by sounding out your travel/tourism ideas with
associates. These may be friends, neighbors,
businesspeople, civic leaders, or city officials. Bring the
subject up for discussion in a group you belong to: the
Chamber of Commerce, your civic club, the city council, the
county board of commissioners, or a similar community
oriented organization or agency. At least one community
organization should make a formal commitment to be the lead
travel industry group, with the acknowledgement and support
of other groups. Most often a Chamber of Commerce or
Visitors Bureau will play the lead role.
Talk with others who can assist with organizing and
planning: the Minnesota Office of Tourism, your regional
tourism association, your County Extension Director, and
the Tourism Center of the University. With a core group
interested in travel/tourism in place, develop a program.
Positive steps suggested in order to move forward follow.
Study Your Present Travel Industry's Resources. Study of
travel-serving facilities, resources and marketing programs
should be done systematically. Start with an assessment of
current conditions. How much tourism do you have now?
What are your community's natural, historical, and cultural
resources?
- Prepare an inventory of your present attractions and
travel-related businesses. Group existing travel/tourism
resources into the categories suggested by the model
(figure 1 ).
- Ask yourself why anyone would come to your community.
As the previous section outlined, the attractors for
visitors may be natural, constructed, historical, economic,
educational, or human services.
- What services and facilities do you have? Without a
"sales package" a set of attractions and services, the
local community cannot maximize economic gain from
travelers. Remember, transportation is a special part of
services. Travel access affects both the kinds of people
and numbers who come to your community.
Set Goals. What kind of travel/tourism do you want, and how
much is an appropriate amount for your community? You and
other community leaders should consider what you want the
local travel industry to look like in the future. Write
these goals down. This vision will certainly change over
time, and should reflect widespread public participation.
Determine Needs For Travel/Tourism Development. What
development is needed? Action is required if you are to
realize community goals for economic development.
- What really "big ideas" or "major theme" can you
identify around which to build a destination image? Can one
be developed? Select or create a distinct image that sets
your community' apart from others: focus on its uniqueness.
The easiest example of this strategy is a community like
New Ulm that builds on its German heritage. The Park Rapids
area has turned its location as the birthplace of the
Mississippi River into the "Land of Legends" theme.
- What public investment is needed?
- What new facilities would round out the attractions
base?
- What commercial visitor services are needed?
- Are basic community services adequate-roads, water
systems, waste disposal, and utilities?
Plan For Environmental Quality. How will you maintain or
improve your community's environmental quality?
Environmental quality should be more important to residents
who live in a locale 365 days a year than to travelers who
are there only for a few days or weeks, but it is essential
to attract and keep visitors. Would you spend hard-earned
money to vacation in a place with polluted waters,
unappealing views, dirty streets, poorly maintained
landscape, or noise intrusions? Overcrowding is another
potentially serious problem for residents and visitors
alike. Good design can help greatly to reduce the problems.
Consider:
- Design of road access and circulation patterns-does
all the traffic snarl up at certain spots?
- Space for certain outdoor recreation activities-those
that require relative isolation, like hiking, nature study,
or cross-country skiing, to separate them from other more
active sports.
- Design facilities for special experiences visitors
can be concentrated at well-designed, special interest
facilities, thereby minimizing conflict with on-going
community activities.
- Keep in mind the need for services to the handicapped
in both public and private facilities.
Your community may find it beneficial to participate in
self-help programs such as the Governor's Design Team,
Minnesota Community Improvement Program, Minnesota Main
Street, or Minnesota Beautiful to achieve environmental
quality goals. Contact the Minnesota Department of Trade
and Economic Development for more information.
Study Markets. Who is your present market that visits now,
why do they come, and what do they do? Look at present
traveler statistics, but reach beyond, asking what the
future market potential for your community might be.
Provide Adequate Information/Direction/Interpretation.
What kind of information-direction-interpretation program
is needed? Use a broad definition of marketing in
attempting to link attractions and services with the
market. How do people learn about what your community has
to offer? How readily accessible is this information?
Included is the development of brochures, directional and
informational signs, traveler information centers,
advertising, and promotion.
Who should prepare information for the public? This
activity is best looked at as an overall system spanning
all industry segments from the individual business
operation to the state. Some of the responsibility is
Minnesota's; some belongs to the region of which your
community is a part. The community must play a part, and
each firm must see that the traveling public has
information about itself.
Interpretive programs and signs can create interest and
"hold" the traveler. More and more, opportunities to learn
are listed as a motive for travel. Today's visitors want to
know about the economy and people of the places visited.
They want to examine the history and savor the lifestyle.
Interpretation takes place in more than a museum. It can be
shown in the architectural style, in tours of industrial
plants, in retail stores, food and lodging places, and in
special events that the community develops.
Educate Your Community. Is there broad-based community
support to attract visitors? In the average community, many
citizens resist the change increased travel/tourism may
bring. As outlined earlier, few realize that most parts of
the community can gain from visitors and how traveler
impacts can be managed. This lack of awareness about
travel/tourism tradeoffs means that ongoing education is
needed in the community. It may include public meetings,
programs in civic clubs and ongoing newspaper, radio and
television coverage about the travel/tourism industry. One
example of a training program for employees who meet and
greet the traveling public is outlined in the final section
of this publication.
Encourage Community Appreciation And Pride. Do residents
exhibit real pride in the community? This is the ultimate
in sales-community enthusiasm by its residents. Every
community has its unique natural endowments and its own
heritage of achievement. All too often these are not
appreciated by those who live there. Often residents may
direct visitors to another community for good meals or
things to see and do! Perhaps you will want to expand your
educational "know your community" programs to include a
program of community pride. The goal might be to develop a
first rate living environment and to create awareness of
this in school children and adults who live in your
community.
Manage Travel/Tourism: An Ongoing Job. The economy is
dynamic. What worked in the beginning to develop travel may
not be best later on: your own residents change as the
generations progress. To maintain a strong travel/tourism
industry:
- Monitor the system. Is your industry stable, growing,
or shrinking?
- Adapt to new technology affecting travel or services.
- How are your customers' needs changing? Adapt to
basic market shifts as income, tastes, family, travel
patterns, and lifestyles change.
- Maintain environmental quality. Avoid blight as
facilities age; but conduct renewal without a "tear downer
philosophy.
- Reexamine your travel industry goals. What's the next
step? Do they need to be advanced? Can they be made more
realistic in the light of experience?
Education to Better Serve Visitors in the Community
Education of retail service people, both business owners
and employees, is essential to help them recognize
travelers and provide information that will make their
visit more pleasant. One program to reinforce hospitality
skills in employees and employers is the Community
Hospitality Seminar. A model outline for this half-day
session follows. (3) Its goals include:
- Providing information about services, facilities, and
attractions of Minnesota and your community and instilling
pride in these features.
- Developing understanding of the value and
responsibility of serving visitors.
- Recognizing the economic impacts of the visitor
industry.
- Developing constructive attitudes toward visitors and
increasing the level of sales-sense and guest relations
skills.
Who Should Attend a Hospitality Seminar?
All those who meet or serve visitors in your community
should attend. Traditionally we think of the innkeeper, the
restaurant manager or the resort owner from the nearby
lake. However, if you observe the activities of visitors,
they are out doing things like making purchases in local
retail outlet-grocery, drug, hardware stores, and gift
shops. Travelers ask for directions and recommendations,
and workers at these establishments are potential community
hosts. Visitors will shape their impressions from contact
with these local residents.
FOOTNOTE:(3) Before proceeding with plans for such a
seminar, check with your Regional Tourism Office or local
County Extension Office. Efforts are being made to offer
annually a statewide mass-media approach to hospitality
training. It means having much of the state examine the
quality of service and knowledge of Minnesota's
travel/tourism resources at the same time. As this planning
proceeds, it still includes many of the same presentations
to be delivered locally.
A list of participants in hospitality training should
include both the private and public sectors: lodging
facilities, restaurants, retail businesses, attractions and
recreation facilities, visitor information centers, service
stations, and banks and financial institutions. Owners,
managers, and employees are invited. Employees are
important because they are the visible contacts with
visitors, and shape visitor response to the community.
Owners and managers instill goals in their entire
organization.
Advance Preparation for the Seminar
At least a month before the event, a task force should be
formed. It ought to represent organizations concerned with
strengthening the travel industry: Visitor and Convention
Bureaus, Chambers of Commerce, restaurant, resort, motel,
hotel and campground associations, and the Minnesota
Extension Service. The task force would assign
responsibilities, select dates and places for the event,
identify and contact presenters for the local parts of the
program, and market the seminar within the community to
build enthusiasm and participation.
Model Program: "Community Hospitality Your Town"
1. Open with a brain teaser on Minnesota's travel
attractors. This exercise points out how little we often
know about the product we have to sell to our guests.
2. The Value and Responsibility of Serving Visitors. A
discussion about the economic and social impact of being a
host community. Note what other communities are doing to
enhance their travel/tourism industry and guidelines for
improvement. Presenter: a knowledgeable spokesperson live
or on video.
3. The Art of Hospitality. How to develop constructive
attitudes toward the visitor and basic principles of good
guest relations. Presenter: a motivational speaker.
4. The State Role in the Travel Industry. Review of the
statewide marketing program and promotion publications.
Outline of local joint-venture programs and other
assistance available to communities. Presenter:
spokesperson from one of the Regional Offices of Tourism.
---Break for refreshments---
5. Know Your Community. A series of presentations
designed to update the information base for those who meet
or serve visitors. Emphasis on being more effective in
encouraging casual drop-in visitors to stop in the
community and those already there to remain longer. Brief,
yet comprehensive presentations delivered enthusiastically.
Good visual aids such as slides, videotapes, charts, and
diagrams add to the comments. Here are some suggested
topics:
- A "light touch" of history. Origin of place names
within the area and history that defines the community's
heritage and cultural resources.
- Facilities and services to host visitors. A
discussion of the overnight accommodations, food services,
entertainment features, unique shopping opportunities and
the like. Much of this information may exist already in
brochures. Look over written promotional pieces to see how
they can be used to better equip those who meet visitors.
- The area's recreation resources. An overview of the
natural resources to serve both visitor and resident. The
best method may be a narrated slide show that focuses on
the quality, diversity, and quantity of such resources and
how to access them. Use existing brochures and maps to
complement the presentation.
- The events and festival schedule for the year. Put
this calendar in the hands of service personnel to help
stimulate visitor participation and attendance at events.
Highlight any new event.
- A review of local marketing efforts. This
presentation is designed to update local residents on the
current efforts and investments to attract visitors. It is
appropriate to reinforce the linkage between the local
groups and regional or state agencies.
6. Wrap up and evaluation. A summary statement by the
local program leader should complete the program by showing
how the pieces fit together. A worksheet could be used to
collect feedback from participants who might otherwise not
share their opinions.
Other ideas may be incorporated in the program as lead-in
or follow-up activities. Organize a bus tour for attendees
to visit the major attractions of the area. Create a
"Courtesy Contest" to identify and reward exceptional
service. This may be done before the event as the attention
-getter or after the seminar to emphasize hospitality as a
local priority. Use buttons that identify the wearer as a
trained host/hostess: "Smile, you're in Benson," "Ask me,
I'm from Duluth." or other appropriate slogans. Reward
those who attend with a certificate of completion which can
be posted in their business.
Above all, put a systematic, ongoing program in place to
spread the word about travel/tourism in the community.
Design activities aimed at the overall population to
improve their awareness and support of the visitor
industry. Work with your editor on regular news releases.
Build in programs about local history at the schools.
Consider a photo contest or create a slide set highlighting
local points of interest. These efforts broaden
participation in travel/tourism issues, and can only
strengthen the ability of your community to attract and
host visitors.
Support Resources to Help You Develop Your Travel/Tourism
Industry
As your community moves toward enhancing your attraction
base, its services and facilities for visitors, and local
marketing programs, you may wish to consult with some of
the following organizations:
Minnesota Office of Tourism:
Central Office Field Office
375 Jackson Street Brainerd, (218) 828-2335
250 Skyway Level Duluth, (218) 723-4692; and
St. Paul. MN 55101 Mankato, (507) 389-6258.
(612) 296-5029
1-800/652-9747
The state and field offices describe their role this way
"To market Minnesota's products and services that relate to
travel, to maintain and increase the gross sales of
Minnesota travel businesses, and to be responsive to
Minnesota's community business and consumer needs as they
relate to tourism."
The initial contact with the Office of Tourism should be
made at the nearest field office. Joint venture marketing,
including financial assistance and cooperative community
marketing and promotion, are one source of assistance.
Central office advice and assistance is available for group
travel, international visitors, and meetings and convention
planning.
Tourism Center, Minnesota Extension Service, University of
Minnesota, 240 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Avenue, St. Paul,
MN 55108. (612) 624-3070 (or contact your local County
Extension Office).
The Tourism Center provides educational programs and
materials, research assistance, project advice and
consultation, as your community explores ways of developing
its travel/tourism industry. Publications of the Center, as
noted in the bibliography, may be helpful in this process.
For information about specific segments of the travel
industry you may wish to contact the offices of appropriate
trade associations:
The Minnesota Resort Association, Minnesota
Restaurant Association, and Minnesota Hotel & Motor
Hotel Association are located at 871 Jefferson
Avenue, St. Paul,MN 55102 (612/222 -7401).
The Minnesota Motel Association and Minnesota
Association of Campground Operators are located at
1000 East 146 Street, Suite 121G, Burnsville, MN
55337 (612/437-2228).
Minnesota Historic Bed and Breakfast Association, 649
West Third Street, Hastings, MN 55033 (612/437-3297).
Minnesota Association of Convention and Visitors
Bureaus, 600 NCL Tower, 445 Minnesota Street, St.
Paul,MN 55101-2108.
Bibliography
Alexander, Phil, 1986. Tourism and It's Significance in
Local Development. E-1937, Michigan State University
Cooperative Extension Service, East Lansing, MI 48824.
Ballman, Gary, Larry, Simonson, and Barbara Koth. 1985.
Managing Small Resorts For Profit. Minnesota Office of
Tourism and the Small Business Development Center and
Agricultural Extension Service, University of Minnesota,
St.Paul, MN 55108.
Breneman, Donald, Barbara Koth, and Glenn Kreag. 1987.
Tourism Brochures to Boost Business. CD-FO-3273. Minnesota
Extension Service, Distribution. Room 3 Coffey Hall. 1420
Eckles Avenue, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.
Commission on Minnesotans Outdoors. 1986. Recommit to
Recreation: A Report on Minnesota's Future Outdoor
Recreation Needs. Office of the Lieutenant Governor,
Room 122. State Capitol. St. Paul, MN 55155.
Dawson, Chad P. 1980, Revised 1987. Courtesy is
Contagious. Copies obtained: Minnesota Sea Grant
Extension Program, 208 Washburn Hall, University of
Minnesota- Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812.
Hetherington. Arlene. 1988. Rural Tourism Marketing
Handbook. Rural Tourism Center, California State
University, Chico. Available from California Department of
Commerce, Office of Local Development, 1121 L Street,
Suite 600, Sacramento. CA 95814.
Howell, Richard. 1987. Small Town Tourism Development.
Recreation, Travel, and Tourism Institute,
263 Lehotsky Hall. Clemson University SC 29634.
Koth, Barbara A. 1988. Evaluating Tourism Advertising
With Cost-Comparison Methods. CD-FO-3372, Minnesota
Extension Service, Distribution, Room 3 Coffey Hall, 1420
Eckles Avenue. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.
Koth, Barbara A., and Glenn M. Kreag, 1987. Community
Travel and Tourism Marketing. CD-FO-3272, Minnesota
Extension Service. Distribution, Room 3 Coffey Hall, 1420
Eckles Avenue. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
55108.
Koth, Barbara A. 1987. Tourism Advertising: Some Basics.
CD-FO-3311. Minnesota Extension Service, Distribution,
Room 3 Coffey Hall, 1420 Eckles Avenue, University of
Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
President's Commission, 1987, Americans Outdoors, The
Legacy, The Challenge, Island Press, 1718 Connecticut
Avenue NW, Suite 300. Washington, D.C. 20009.
Simonson, Lorry. Barbara Koth and Glenn Kreag. Quarterly.
Newsletter: Tourist Travel Notes, University of Minnesota
Extension Service. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
55108.
University of Missouri, Department of Recreation and Park
Administration, University Extension, 1986. Tourism USA:
Guidelines for Tourism Development. U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th and Constitution, Room 1865, Washington,
D.C. 20030.
Dedication
To: Uel Blank and Dayton Larsen, two of the three authors
whose original work, titled, So Your Community Wants
Tourism? is the basis of this revision. Uel, now retired,
and Dayton, deceased, were tireless workers on behalf of
Minnesota's travel/tourism industry.
To: Jane Preston, deceased, a friend and teacher. She often
observed "towns are like people and first impressions often
count the most and may last the longest," reminding us of
the important role of hospitality when serving visitors.
This publication is based on and replaces two earlier
Minnesota Extension publications: So Your Community Wants
Tourism? CD-FO-9679 and Know Your Community CD-FO-0758.
Lawrence R. Simonson is a tourist services specialist with
the University of Minnesota Extension Service based in
Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Barbara A. Koth is an assistant
extension specialist, Tourism Development, University of
Minnesota. Glenn M. Kreag is an area extension agent-
recreation/tourism development, Minnesota Sea Grant
Extension Program, Duluth.
The information given in this publication is for
educational purposes only. Reference to commercial
products or trade names is made with the understanding that
no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the
Minnesota Extension Service is implied.
Issued in furtherance of cooperative extension work in
agriculture and home economics, acts of May 8 and June 30,
1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture. Patrick J. Borich, Dean and Director of
Minnesota Extension Service, University of Minnesota, St.
Paul, Minnesota 55108. The University of Minnesota,
including the Minnesota Extension Service, is committed to
the policy that all person shall have equal access to its
programs facilities and employment without regard to race,
religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age,
veteran status, or sexual orientation.
Copyright@1988 by Minnesota Extension Service, University
of Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of these
materials may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed,
stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any
language or computer language, in any form or by any means,
electron, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual
or otherwise, without the prior written permission of
Minnesota Extension Service, Distribution, Room 3 Coffey
Hall, 1420 Eckles Ave., University of Minnesota, St. Paul,
MN 55108.
This information is for educational purposes only. References
to commercial products or trade names does not imply
endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not
mentioned. This information becomes public property upon
publication and may be printed verbatim with credit to MSU
Extension. Reprinting cannot be used to endorse or advertise
a commercial product or company.
This file was generated from data base TD on 09/30/03.
Data base TD was last revised on 06/06/02.
For more information about this data base or its contents please contact
alexande@msue.msu.edu . Please read our
disclaimer for important
information about using our site.