Heritage tourism workshop slated for Ontario
A half-day workshop custom-designed to help eastern Oregon area organizations and businesses succeed in heritage tourism will take place June 7 in Ontario.
The workshop will give you information, examples, working tools, new contacts and networking opportunities to strengthen your own attraction as a draw and build collaborations that create uniquely satisfying visitor experiences. The workshop is titled “Succeeding with Heritage Tourism: Market Information, Resources, and Ideas for Attracting More Visitors through Creative Collaboration.”
According to past participant, Sarah LeCompte and Oregon Heritage Commissioner, heritage tourism workshops held in eastern Oregon in spring of 2016 paved the way for a stellar year of visitation, with many heritage and cultural sites reporting visitation increases up to 15-20%.
“Looking for opportunities to collaborate and cross market to build new audiences, they learned about the need to start connecting heritage attractions with other activities that might not seem compatible at first glance. Museum and brew pub? Historic sites and street fairs and bicycle rentals? Art gallery to museum to fishing spot?” notes LeCompte, “It’s easy to get focused on promoting our own area of interest, and forgetting that most humans generally have more than one favorite past-time, and want a travel and vacation experience to match their unique set of interests.”
The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 7 at Four Rivers Cultural Center, 676 SW 5th Avenue in Ontario.
The workshop is free, but registration is required. Register online at www.oregonheritage.org .
For more information, contact Kuri Gill at 503-986-0685 or kuri.gill@oregon.gov .
The workshop is sponsored by the Oregon Heritage Commission, part of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department using statewide partner funds provided by the Oregon Cultural Trust. It was organized with support from Revitalize Ontario! and the Four Rivers Cultural Center.
