How to Bring Tourism to Your Area

Tourism can make or break any area. Think about this- when you brings tourists to your area, you don't have to spend a lot to provide for them. you don't have to build more housing, you don't have to install more sewer lines, you don't have to provide them with police and fire protection in most cases. Tourists are cheap to keep and they bring in a heck of a lot more money than they ever cost you in resources. So how to get them?

Historical Sites
Historical sites are a traditional way to attract tourists. They don't have to be the site of anything huge happening, but they do need a plaque and some promotion. Think of anything even mildly historical that occurred in your town. If you are in the South, chances are that a civil war skirmish was fought in your area. Even if it's not well known, skirmishes occurred in pretty much every town in the South. So, if you want to go that route, capitalize on it. If you are in the Northeast, you have plenty of things to choose from. There may have been a Pilgrim settlement nearby, or an interesting historical shipping area. By consulting old books from colonial times, you might just dig up something that happened in your area that can be played on. It doesn't have to be a nice thing, either. Sometimes the best tourist attractions are gruesome things. Look at the way Salem has created an entire cottage industry on innocent people being hanged in their town.

Unique Shopping
Shopping tourists are one of the best kinds. They swoop in, buy lots of stuff, and then leave. It doesn't get much better than that. If you have any unique shopping areas in town, such as a few streets with lots of antique stores, a plethora of independently owned bookstores, or some factory outlets, these can be played up for big money. And with this kind of attraction, it doesn't cost much to promote. Plenty of color brochures with pictures of the shopping area in question, along with exciting descriptions about what kinds of things can be found there is usually sufficient. If there is a budget for it, some regional TV ads can be run as well.

Community Events
These events include parades, specialty festivals, public hangings, whatever floats the community's respective boat. The good thing about a lot of these events (aside from the hangings) is that they can easily be promoted for free. These are legitimate events that are likely to be discussed on the evening news and in newspapers. The trick is to advertise the events out of town to bring in the extra dollars. If you can get some good press releases together, there is no reason that the free publicity can't come from several different newscasts throughout the region.

Famous People
There are few things that Americans like more than famous people. And famous people come from everywhere. If you can dig around in the records, and maybe do some web searches, you may find that there are famous people who were born and/or raised in your area. The house that the person in question was raised in then becomes a prime tourist trap. Even a house that is privately owned can put a plaque in the yard. Promote the site heavily and hire a bus to drive people back and forth in front of the locations in question. "This is the house where Bob was born, this is where he grew up, and this is his elementary school..." It sounds strange, but people do go on these pilgrimages to feel closer to their idols. This is something that can be promoted online inexpensively, and can bring in people from all over the country.

Once you have your tourists in place, you can market souvenirs to them. Even if they don't buy the souvenirs, and there's no reason they shouldn't, your area will still benefit from the increased tax revenues coming in from tourists paying for the attractions you have set up or promoted. Then there are the increased tax revenues from local restaurants, hotels, and rental car establishments. So if your town is broke, plan to bring in tourists if you ever want to get those potholes fixed.