I was excited to see Washingtonian magazine did a August cover story on Great Small Towns. “Two dozen places that will charm you with old-fashioned hospitality and newfangled vigor,” the website summary says. “Visit for a day, a weekend—or for good.” The spread covered 25 different small towns in the greater Washington, D.C., driving area….
Guest Post by Leslie McLellan I’m building a destination marketing program for an area in Southern California – www.visitsanjacintovalley.com – and one of our niches is the snowbird market. The San Jacinto Valley is home to the largest RV park along the west coast –www.goldenvillagepalms.com – and they are the poster child for snowbird attraction. …
Do you have a paper brochure for a walking tour? or barn quilt tour? or driving tour? Here are seven ways to take that same tour, reach new potential visitors, and make your tourism website easier to find in searches. See, different types of people visit different places online. So every different way you can post your…
This idea comes from the Chickasaw Nation. Storytelling is an important part of Chickasaw culture, and who doesn’t love a good spooky story? Storytelling is an important part of many rural cultures, probably including yours. That makes this a great idea for any small town to adapt and use. In fact, why not start building your…
Two art projects that are kind of cousins caught my attention as tools for small towns. First is from reader Doug Mackenzie. It’s metal sign that, if you stand in the right place and line up the courthouse in the center, it shows the other historic buildings from the town of Marshall, North Carolina. (See the…
Small towns watch the endless parade of cars going by on the highway. How can we get them to stop? That question from a reader got me thinking. I’d love your ideas on this question. My ideas: Before you worry about “getting people to stop”, recognize that “family and friends” visits are your primary source…
In general, towns are more or less the same. Streets, houses, trees. It’s the details that make one different. Sitting down for a meal in the restored Harvey House in Waynoka, Oklahoma. Watching the white-haired men lawn bowling at the seaside on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Enjoying a scoop of juneberry ice cream in…
. Years ago, a town near me won a grant to improve their downtown. They hired an architect, who drew up 3 alternative plans. The council looked them over, debated which one would work best, then sat on those plans with no further action for a couple of years. They couldn’t come to an agreement on which…
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