If you are working to promote tourism in a rural area or small town, consider the niche travel trend called astrotourism. It’s just a fancy term for attracting people who like stargazing. A friend of mine asked what I knew about it, because she’s gotten inquiries from small towns about how they can take advantage of…
Our latest Survey of Rural Challenges said natural resources are rural communities’ best rural assets, but most places don’t have enough outfitters to take advantage of them as tourism development. Here’s how rural people like you can take small steps to grow into outdoor outfitters. Gather Your Crowd to attract groups and organizations that want to help…
But you already knew that Tourism Currents, experts on social media for tourism, wrote about 5 travel trends to blog about right now, and there’s a lot for rural communities to latch onto there. 1) Wellness Travel Sheila says, “where people can go to relax, detox, relieve stress, get a massage and spa treatments, eat…
Electric vehicle chargers are a perfect place for tourism wayfinding signs. EV charging stations are popping up in lots of rural places, especially along interstate highways and along the coasts in the US. They’ve become relatively common at some motels as well. Chargers are also popping up globally in rural places. Deb Brown reported seeing…
After we discussed Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome, our friends at Marketing Delmarva pointed out HipCamp. One of our local blueberry farms does this with an app called HipCamp. Folks literally camp in the middle of a historic fruit farming operation. Well, not quite the same; they don’t trade blueberries for campsites, but you DO…
RV travelers, vanlifers and other self-contained nomads can stay at interesting destinations with Harvest Hosts. Stays feature wineries, farms, breweries, museums, and more. There’s a membership fee for campers to join, but no camping fee when they stay. Guests are encouraged to buy at least one thing from their hosts during their stay. One guest…
Here’s a tourism tip from a roadside stop from my long drive to visit rural communities in Eastern Colorado. The Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts are still visible near Lakin in Western Kansas. You can walk across the little dam, past the tree and right out to the original trail, but there isn’t a lot…
A building that is falling down or where the roof has fallen in can still be useful. One example is the Royal Theater, in Archer City, Texas. The Royal Theater was featured in the movie “The Last Picture Show,” and production crews did the work to shore up the facade. The space behind has a…
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