The 1998 National Extension Tourism Conference was held in Grantville, PA, from May 17-20. The conference was attended by 137 extension and RC&D professionals from across the country. Results of the conference evaluation were very positive, with most sessions receiving "useful" to "very useful" ratings. Presenters from New York included David White of NY Sea Grant and Linda LaRosa-Mosner of the South Central New York RC&D Project. Alice Sprout and Dave Reville of the CCE of Wayne County provided two poster presentations, and Dave White and Diane Kuehn of NY Sea Grant provided one. Overall, feedback from the conference was very positive.
CONTACT: Diane Kuehn, NY Sea Grant, (315) 341-3042, e-mail: dmk16@cornell.edu.
The following summary reports on the keynote presentation by Dr. Lalia Rach, Dean of the Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Travel Administration, New York University.
After three days of learning about a wide variety of proven tourism techniques, the attendees had it all highlighted by the banquet speaker, Dr. Lalia Rach. Without attending the conference that preceded her, she touched on most of the strands and elements of the conference. And she did it in a very humorous way.
She started off saying that tourism at the federal level could be described in three ways. With a positive spin it could be declared unique. With a neutral spin it could be said that "we are at a crossroads." But with a realistic spin, tourism at the federal level is appalling.
Rach said there are no federal agencies devoted to tourism like they have in other countries. "There are plenty of agencies that involve tourism," she said, "but none with the status of a USDA." She didn't want to be accused of advocating the creation of another agency, but said it would be nice if somebody fixed our travel infrastructure. When you think of Europe, you think of Eurail, she said. Do we have anything that even comes close to that? And what kind of experience does a foreign visitor get at our gateway cities? What does a visitor think of the United States when he or she takes a taxi ride from the airport? Rach advocated a national discussion on the place of tourism in the economy.
She said our competition is evolving and we must evolve to keep up. Five years ago who would have thought of Vietnam, South Africa, or Poland as tourist destinations? Our country is evolving as well, she said. New York City has reinvented itself and is cashing in on the facelift and reduced crime image. A major luxury hotel had a 97% occupancy in 1997, she added. "You compete with every country in the world as well as with the other states," she said. And we can no longer bank on our climate. Antarctica is one of the hottest destinations.
Rach said that in order to understand what the
future holds for tourism we must look to the past,
particularly the last three decades and observe the
changes. In 1968 tourists rarely flew to their destinations.
"See the USA in your Chevrolet." Mom, dad and 2.1
kids literally covered the country in the family station wagon.
Now they fly, or more correctly fly/drive. Flying is
so common that it has special names. Frequent.
Premier. Mega. Hundred-thousand Mile Club. Flying is
now more a function of time than of expense. She
added that flying is not necessarily better. "Thirty years
ago peanuts were the appetizer. Now they are the meal."
Thirty years ago home was a refuge from work. Today it is an extension of the office. We are now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Americans have to plan to relax at home. It is estimated that we work one month more per year than we did 30 years ago, she said. The home is the most mixed-use development in the country, she added, and leisure-based tourism facilities should look at this.
We now have sophisticated niche markets: single adventurer travelers, single senior travelers, grandparent/grandchild weekends. Almost two thirds of US households have no children under 18. The percentage of households with married couples is only 55. Destinations that don't recognize that Americans have changed will fail.
Today's traveler can be described as more sophisticated, more demanding and more overwhelming than ever before in our history. Tourists fuel their desire for experiences based on past experience but they want unique experiences again and again. What does this mean to the destination?
For one thing, loyalty is based on "does the destination do the right thing and do it with consistency?" The desk clerk is by far the most important person at a hotel. This is the only chance the hotel has to make a good first impression, but the remainder of the hotel experience had better live up to the welcome. Today's traveler has too many experiences and therefore a rich frame of reference.
Rach continued her presentation by illustrating how the baby boom generation, which has driven every other element in our economy, is driving the tourism industry. The boomers and their children, the "echo-boomers" will be your customers in the twenty-first century, Rach said.
She told an amusing anecdote to illustrate the lifestyle of these potential tourists. She said a four year old told his parents that he had solved the problem of his birthday present. He said he wanted to go to Disney World. The parents explained that it would be nice but it is too expensive. The child replied that all they had to do is stop by the money machine on their way and pick up some money. The parents then explained that they had to go to work to get the money to put in the machine. The kid said why didn't they just move the machine into the home. The kid had observed that whenever they went somewhere they stopped by the ATM to pick up money.
This sparked a discussion about the problem with taking a four year old to Disney World. Where do you take him when he is five after he has been to Disney World? This is how sophisticated and well traveled today's and tomorrow's tourists are.
Some other observations of boomer behavior that should interest the destination: People are blending work and leisure and it is up to the destination to capitalize on this. How many attendees at the conference visited the Hershey Chocolate Factory?
Rach explained that Saturday night stay-overs, mandated by lower airline fares are fueling some of this. "OK since I'm there anyway, I might as well see what there is to do." If the destination can help the business person relax, they will both profit. Another observation: boomers are packing more into their vacations. Such terms as speed golf, palm pilots and multi-tasking are part of their lexicon. They even name their leisure timequality time, gym break, power nap. When they return they don't want to answer the question, "what did you do on your trip?" with "I just stayed in my room or sat on the beach."
The boomers' toys are complex too. Take a bicycle trip. We used to pick the bike up where we left it in the grass the night before and take off. Now we first have to have the right biking outfit. Next is protective equipment and the right bikemountain, road or hybrid. You better have a water bottle, a map or better yet, a GPS locator system. Now you are ready to go biking so you put it on your Yakima rack on your SUV and away you go. Rach's point is that when you go to this much trouble to have fun, the destination had better deliver a quality experience. The destination that has identified this as an opportunity is the one that will get the boomers' tourist dollars.
Some destinations, according to Rach, have done a good job of catering to this baby boom tourist machine. The Mall of America may be the largest attraction in Minnesota. Vermont offers all kinds of skiing to the multigenerational visitor and offers it within a very few miles.
Another thing to watch. As the baby boomers age they redefine the rules of that age. "Death to any destination that treats aging boomers like they treat today's senior citizens." These people have been indulged every step of the way and they are not readily going to give up their status. If you treat them as older Americans they will leave you. They love ethnic and unusual cuisine, different cultures and adventure travel. The destination has to find a way to soften the adventure part because they are aging. But you can't let them know you are doing it.
Today's senior citizens travel by bus. "Do you think a bus gene will kick in eight years from now and the boomers will give up their sports cars or SUVs and suddenly start taking bus tours?" These people grew up with the Mustang and they are not going to give them up.
Finally Rach pointed out that the boomer generation has been indulged all the way along and today, because of stress, they want to be indulged even more. Money is no object. On coffee break they pay $3.50 for a latte, they drink microbrew and eat ice cream with such names as Indulgence in Moderation.
Destinations that understand what this large, rich cohort wants and deliver it will profit from tourism in the early decades of the next century.
SUMMARIZED BY: James N. Briggs, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Hamilton County, e-mail: jbriggs@cce.cornell.edu.
The Small Business Support Program of Cornell Cooperative Extension in Essex County joined with Lake Champlain Bikeways of the Lake Champlain Basin Program last fall to sponsor a series of workshops introducing small businesses to the idea of promoting cycling in Essex County as a way to increase economic activity in the region. The specific area targeted was the region between Lake Champlain and the Adirondack peaks for which the name "Adirondack Coast" was coined.
The meetings resulted in the formation of the Adirondack Coast Bikeways Committee made up of small business owners and representatives of economic development groups. The committee began working on three projects in January 1998, all of which are now in the completion stage.
A guidebook with maps and commentary on the natural, cultural, historical, and recreational sites along six biking routes in the Adirondack Coast region has been produced. The routes are named for the unique character of their surroundings and are loops which connect with each other as well as with the main Lake Champlain Bikeways route around the entire lake. The Cooperative Business Network (started by and spun off from Cooperative Extension) used its data base of Essex County businesses to produce an insert to the guide which lists the services provided by the businesses located on the routes. The guidebook and insert will be available in early June.
High Peaks Cyclery of Lake Placid has moved the "Century Ride", an annual 100-mile cycling event which they have sponsored for 15 years, to the Adirondack Coast region this year. It is scheduled for August 22 and will run between Lake Placid and the village of Essex on the lake shore, using the new bike loops. In addition to publicizing the existence of the bicycling routes, this will help to break down the barrier that seems to exist in tourists' minds between the High Peaks/Lake Placid region and the lake coast towns. High Peaks Cyclery is opening a bicycle and kayak rental shop in the town of Essex this summer.
The third project, to provide bike racks and picnic tables to the five communities located on the biking loops, is dependent on the availability of funds. If the grant money is received, the bike racks will be built by a business located in one of the towns on the loops and the picnic tables will be built as part of the county's Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC) program. This will benefit the area by keeping the money in Essex County.
The next step for the Committee is to revisit the list of ideas that came out of the initial series of public meetings to select new projects to pursue.
CONTACT: Carolyn G. Virtuoso, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex Co. at 518-962-4810, e-mail: cvirtuos@cce.cornell.edu
"How hard do you want to work?," Peggy Frederick asked in late March of the Agritourism Conference attendees at the Auburn Holiday Inn. Eighty-four individuals representing farm markets, historic and educational farm tours, wineries, farm bed & breakfasts, agricultural festivals, and Cornell Cooperative Extension and tourism organizations from across New York State gathered to discuss the how-to of agritourism enterprises and events. The conference was sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, Cayuga County Tourism, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County, and Seaway Trail, Inc.
The day's opening session stressed the importance of working together. Jim Tresize of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation opened the conference by sharing information on how wineries across New York pool their resources to create a stronger impression through a Wine Country Calendar of events, videotape presentations, and cooperative advertising. Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Ralph Standbrook emphasized the success to be found in joining agricultural resources with tourism's promotional programs.
Concurrent sessions throughout the day focused on the basics of creating an agriculturally-based, tourism-attractive business; concerns regarding insurance, recruiting good help, advertising, and meeting consumer expectations; safety and sanitation issues; food services and bed & breakfast accommodations; attracting motorcoach tours and accommodating larger groups; and accessing tourism resources.
"We felt this conference would meet a need for more information on developing and enhancing agritourism enterprises and the conference evaluations indicate that those attending felt the program was worthwhile," commented Judy Wright, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County. Participants "traveled from St. Lawrence County in the northern part of the state to Suffolk County in the south, from Chautauqua at the western border and the Hudson Valley in the east for this conference," said Wright.
ARTICLE BY: Kara Lynn Dunn, Seaway Trail Inc.
CONTACT: Judy Wright, Executive Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, e-mail: jwright@cce.cornell.edu.
The New York Sea Grant Program, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and The Ontario Dune Coalition, is pleased to announce the posting of a new WWW site focused on the Eastern Lake Ontario Dune and Wetlands Area. This area is a 17-mile stretch of sand dunes and wetlands, the only freshwater ecosystem of its kind in New York State. This project was initiated because of the need to educate the public about how to protect the area. This project was funded by The John Ben Snow Foundation.
The focus of the web site is the area's unique ecosystem. The site has two main components: a section containing publications, The Ontario Dune Coalition newsletters, fact sheets, and information resource lists for the area, and an interactive section designed for students and adults that interprets dune erosion and creation processes. This latter section uses animated illustrations to show how dunes erode, how they form, and how beachgrass grows, and has interactive information about the wildlife of the area.
The address of the site is "www.cce.cornell.edu/seagrant/dune/dune.html". The animated portion of the site can be accessed by clicking on "Dune Fun" which is listed under "Educational Activities" on the main menu of the site's homepage.
CONTACT: Dave White, NY Sea Grant, at (315) 341-3042, e-mail: dwhite@cce.cornell.edu; or Diane Kuehn, NY Sea Grant, at (315) 341-3042, e-mail: dmk16@cornell.edu.
This past year, Cornell's Statewide Program Committee on Economic Vitality has been forming work groups on topics related to economic vitality. The committee's tourism work group will be forming this fall. The group's mission will be to develop statewide extension tourism initiatives (e.g., agritourism, ecotourism). The group's first meeting will be held on October 14 from 10 to 11 am in Waterloo prior to the CCE Statewide Conference. If you are interested in joining, please contact Diane Kuehn (e-mail: dmk16@cornell.edu).
Upcoming Conference
Cornell Cooperative Extension Statewide Conference: "CCE - A Partner in Community Building"
October 14-16
Waterloo/Seneca Falls Holiday Inn
For information: (607) 255-6506
"Considerations for Agritourism Development." 1998. Kuehn, D., D. Hilchey, D. Ververs, K. L. Dunn, and P. Lehman. 25 pp. Cost: $1.50.
This report discusses the considerations necessary for developing successful agritourism businesses, festivals, farmers markets, and regional tourism programs. Case studies are included.
To obtain a copy, contact: NY Sea Grant, 101 Rich Hall, SUNY, Oswego, NY 13126; Phone: (315) 341-3042
Make checks payable to: Cornell University.
The following publications are available from Cornell University Media Services:
"Zebra Mussels: Impact and Control," Cost: $12.75
"Be a Waterfront Winner: A Shoreline Residents Guide for the NE," Cost: $2.00
"Handling Your Catch: A Guide for Saltwater Anglers," Cost: $9.00
"Seafood Savvy: A Consumer's Guide to Seafood Nutrition, Safety, Handling, and Preparation," Cost: $5.50
"Contaminants in Sport Fish: Managing Risk," Cost: $2.00
"Guidelines to Increased Survival of Released Sport Fish," Cost: $2.00
"Maintaining Coastal Erosion Control Structures," Cost: $2.00
"Shellfish Mariculture," Cost: $2.00
To obtain a copy, contact:
Cornell University Media & Technology Services, 7 Cornell Business & Technology Park, Ithaca, NY 14850; Phone: (607) 255-2090.
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