Mr. Poimiroo

Cultural Tourism

Heritage Corridors: Routes to Increased Occupancy

By John Poimiroo, Principal, Poimiroo & Partners

When limited markets are divided among competing hotels with similar facilities and services, hoteliers find that new guests can be attracted and hotel occupancy increased by revisiting the past.

They've discovered that heritage corridors create additional reasons to travel a route, be loyal to a property and stay longer. These less-traveled corridors were once the beaten path, but now have nostalgic appeal for travelers in search of a slower pace, authenticity and our nation's history.

Nearly all the 35 National Heritage Corridors and most state and local corridors are built around old transportation corridors... old highways, railroads, canals, rivers, ports and other waterways, but it is not the byways, historic facilities or equipment themselves that attract public interest. It is their historical and cultural character that does so.

Utah describes its heritage corridors as where "yesterday meets today," and "where history continues to shape the architecture, music, crafts, foods, festivals, customs, culture and lifestyle." Like many states, Utah employs its heritage corridors as a tool to encourage travelers to visit lesser-known destinations. In turn, rural and depressed economies benefit through the export value of travel spending, which also helps sustain arts, culture and traditional lifestyles both directly and indirectly. The entertaining stories and cultures along these byways attract travel spending, generate state and local tax revenues and create new jobs, motivating local officials and residents to see cultural heritage tourism as vital to their economies and way of life.

Every part of America has stories and cultures of interest to travelers, whether it be native American history and culture, early European colonies, military installations and battlefields, the arts, crafts and cultural traditions of local people or pop culture (i.e., motion pictures, the summer of love, rock music, etc.). Grand themes are always compelling, but even lesser ones can attract a following. And, heritage corridors need not be limited to the countryside, compact corridors can provide the warp and woof of a city's cultural fabric.

All but one of America's National Heritage Corridors are located east of the Mississippi River. Those in the east are largely related to transportation corridors, such as the Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor in New York State or the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in Connecticut, but heritage corridors need not be limited to transportation routes, either. There are conceptual routes such as Texas' Los Caminos del Rio" or "Texas in World War II" corridors. Any aspect of the American experience can be a heritage corridor.

If your locale does not have a heritage corridor, consider encouraging your destination marketing organization (chamber of commerce or convention and visitors bureau) to work with local history and arts groups to identify truly genuine and distinctive aspects about your area and develop heritage corridors in support of those topics. While your heritage corridor might not qualify for national designation, it could get state or local recognition.

Should local motivation be lacking, consider identifying a heritage corridor on your own. The Internet allows that at low cost... all you need is a legitimate theme for the corridor and an effort to communicate it. The Internet allows the creation and presentation of routes that otherwise might not quality for highway designation. Imagine, for example, a virtual tour of historic barns with accompanying maps downloadable to a PDA, or a virtual art trail with online links to galleries, artist studios, scenic spots and art museums in your area.

While gaining highway recognition is the ultimate payoff of getting formal heritage corridor recognition, that isn't always possible and not getting it shouldn't prevent a good corridor concept from being promoted successfully. The Internet allows even an obscure heritage corridor to gather a following. Take any topic, Google it and you'll find its devotees and the sites they frequent. Communicate to those fans and you'll inspire them to consider visiting your locale. For example, should your hotel be near where a famous musician got his start, show his fans where the artist's work was created and where it can be experienced today, tell stories of the artist, make the places accessible and those fans will find their way to your hotel. This can work with any topic that has loyal fans.

Web 2.0 techniques such as blogging, vlogging (videocasting), and podcasting (alogging) provide inexpensive and powerful ways to reach audiences that are interested in the heritage to be found along your corridor. Without need for a formal heritage corridor to exist, a hotel could record videos at points along the route, then post them to generate interest and reasons to visit.

Begin by defining the theme of your heritage corridor. The theme should be vertical. That is, try not to cross many or conflicting themes but keep it consistent, such as a particular historical period, a style of music, a specific war, a style of visual art (pottery) or architecture or type of motion pictures (westerns). Create two-minute videos about different aspects of the corridor featuring a videogenic hotel employee. Describe briefly the location's proximity to your property (but don't hype your property). Superimpose your web address at the end of the video and post it on YouTubeTM. Attach the YouTube video to your website, and send emails to past guests alerting them to the video and encouraging them to visit your website to see it.

A good video with interesting content can drive thousands of viewers to your website and potentially lead to incremental reservations. A series of them on a given subject (battlefield trail, art trail, agricultural trail) can generate repeat visits. The same can be done by writing an article about an aspect of the corridor and posting it on article syndication sites (such as ezine.com) and blogging them on your website. Again, be sure to point the reader back to your website for more information about the corridor. Audio stories about the corridor can be podcast, as well. Tag your podcasts, blogs and vlogs with keywords that people will be searching for and syndicate them using RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Then, when people look for subjects related to your heritage corridor, they'll be alerted to the content you've posted and come to see your property as an authority and, therefore, the likely place to stay when touring the corridor. Thus, the promotion of heritage corridors can add reasons beyond the thread count in your sheets for cultural heritage travelers to visit and be loyal to your property.

John Poimiroo has had a 30-years in travel and tourism marketing and public policy. He directed marketing and public relations programs at ski areas, attractions, national and state parks, hotel companies and destinations. He was California's tourism director in the 1990s. He is credited for conceiving the California Tourism Marketing Act and helping shape the law authorizing California Welcome Centers. He assisted the chair of the President's Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in establishing the California Cultural Heritage Tourism Council and continues as an advisor. Mr. Poimiroo can be contacted at 916-933-8860 or john@poimiroo.com Extended Bio...

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