The Premier Assets of Tourism for Floyd County - Essay Example

?Running Head: Strategic Tourism Planning Strategic Tourism Planning of the of the Strategic Tourism Planning Background Tourism plays an important part in the economy of any country, region or nation. This paper deals with the tourism in Floyd County. The County has never had any endorsed or cohesive plan for tourism; rather, it has various collaborative tourism endeavors over recent years. Many people and organizations have taken various leadership and stewardship roles including the Chamber of Commerce, the Jacksonville Center for the Arts, Blue Ridge Heritage, Inc., and Round the Mountain. Private businesses have also served leadership capacities, including the gathering of support for certain collaborative ads and promotions and publishing newsletters, websites and a magazine about Floyd. The Floyd County Chamber of Commerce has been playing a significant role in the supporting of local businesses in the long time. A significant revitalization part has been performed by the government of the Floyd County in the downtown. The staff and town spent time in the prominent investments in the private sector and various alterations and modifications have been brought by the finances that were acquired from the federal and in the shape of restoration and enhancement of downtown which also includes more public restrooms, shops, a hotel, additional parking, and a community market (Butler, Richard, Michael, John, 1998). The Heritage Pathways project has been continually worked upon by the towns which will offer crucial interconnections to it. A downtown park is being developed within the town which has been granted the support from the Partnership for Floyd. Numerous local non-profits have been provided funding and finance by the Town of Floyd, which also includes it financing through the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Thus, the Floyd Town has worked properly and in sophisticated manner upon its tourist aspect. Tourism Promotion An active part has been played by the Floyd County government in terms of the development and promotion of tourism. The County offers the customers a destination market organization (DMO)—the primary contact for the Virginia Tourism Corporation. The staff of the County has hosted Virginia Tourism Corporation Visitor Center staff for tours of Floyd County and worked with VTC, The Crooked Road and others on numerous substantial media tours. Besides the tours of the group media, the staff of The County also facilitates as a liaison for individual, reputable journalists, suggesting itineraries, and linking them with various complimentary tours and services (Bruce, David, and Margaret, 1993). A customized media kit has been supplied by the County, which also includes the DVD of itineraries and images to visiting media. This outreach of the public relations has only been possible with the kind, generous, and the complimentary hosting that has been offered by the local lodging facilities. The tourism pages for the County are on its website (www.floydcova.org/visitors), which also contains the local listings direct feed from the main state site, Virginia.org. Being a DMO, the emails are moderated by the County from VTC related to media opportunities and shares pertinent ones with email list of tourism related entities in Floyd County and serves as a reviewer for tourism-related grant applications. Situational Analysis Being a significant element of the planning process, the participants undertake a Situational Analysis with respect to the tourist destination in order to determine the objectives and goals of the plan (Hall, 2008). In the current plan, the current tourism assets, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, target customers, and a brief analysis of the tourism infrastructure, marketing strategies, and tourism policy have been identified in the current plan. Tourism Assets A list of the premier assets of tourism for Floyd County is provided below. These assets can possibly be depicted in the promotion and advertising. It is as follows: Blue Ridge Parkway Buffalo Mountain Downtown Floyd The Music: This includes the Friday Night Jamboree outside and inside The Floyd Country Store and, numerous other venues of music County Sales; Various special events and music festivals such as Floyd fest Chateau Morrisette Restaurant & Winery Mabry Mill/ other historic Water Mills Local Foods: restaurants and food markets The Arts: 16 Hands, The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, and other studios Rocky Knob/Rock Castle Gorge Trails (Steven, 1995) Target Customers There is an entire list of the specific and general market segments of the tourists that have been determined as the potential target markets for the marketing and advertisement of the Floyd County as a tourism destination in future (Bourke, Lisa, Luloff, 1995). These groups have been determined as potential markets with respect to the input of stakeholders and the available tourism assets, a detailed investigations and research of all the potential market need to be performed in order to identify the tourist markets segments for the implementation of the advertising and marketing: The potential and target customer of the current destination are as follows: By age: Young Families Millennial Baby boomers Age 21 and over Retirees Elders By location: North Carolina Washington D.C. Virginia Also New York, Florida and Ohio Outdoor Recreation Enthusiasts Canoes/kayakers Hikers Birders Photographers Bicyclers Golfers By Groups: Girlfriend Getaways Regional Recreation Groups Youth Hostel Church Groups By Travel Route/ Scenic Drives: Motorcycle Riders Blue Ridge Parkway Riders Antique/Collector Car Clubs Interstate 81 Travelers By Niche/Interest Arts Education Sector (students, alumni, parents) Visitors drawn by music Organic seekers Culinary Travelers (interested in restaurants, wineries, farmer’s market, etc.) Holistic Health Green or eco-travelers Cultural Heritage/History SWOT Analysis The identification and discussion of SWOT refers to the detailed study of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. SWOT Analysis is utilized as the primary method in the development of the strategic tourism plan for Floyd County. The weaknesses and strengths are considered as the internal factors, while threats and opportunities are assessed as the external factors. Strengths The Floys Count possesses strong attractions and assets for the tourists to mesmerize them. These include the 16 Hands, Crooked Road, County Sales, Floyd Country Store, Farmer’s Supply, Schoolhouse Fabrics, Mabry Mill, Round the Mountain, organic farms, golf courses, walking tour, etc.). One of the major strengths of the county is that it appeals the visitors through its mesmerizing places and they love to discover the Floyd (Hiller, 2000). Weaknesses Just like every other business, the tourism to Floyd County also counters some weaknesses. One of the major weaknesses includes it duplication of marketing strategies. It follows the same old conventional strategies to market the business in the county. Some operating schedules of businesses do not cater to the visitors. Then, it has poor roads, poor driving conditions, and no good availability of restaurants, poor signage, high gas and fuels prices and various other such problems. Te places have a dire need of parking for RV’s, motorcycles, and all forms of transportation. Besides the lack of such facilities, it needs more recreational sports like parks and museums, more business hours and need to allocate more budgets to the tourism. It also lacks the facilities to remove the ice and snow. Opportunities The Floyd County can make use of introducing the additional festivals (such as pumpkin festival with corn maze), open up new restaurants, new parks and museums and other such places. This will enhance the visitors' appeal to the place. It also needs to revise and review the marketing ideas and strategies in order to publicize the tourist spots that The County has in specific. The county has to preserve and protect all its natural assets and an avail the opportunities by embarking upon the new business strategies and marketing plans to promote the place (Bourke, Lisa, Luloff, 1995) .Moreover, it can take advantage of the website collaboration and also have thorough assistance from the Virginia Tech’s Tourism Department in terms of business and financial support. Threats The lack of budget and the economic uncertainties may make the situations worse for the tourism facilities in the Floyd County. The overdevelopment processes being undertaken in Floyd will result in the loss of natural lands. The shortage of industries may discourage the heavy developmental efforts in the County. The lack of zoning and dividing the place into divisions may spoil the management and administering of Floyd. There has been an increased pressure and use of the infrastructure, and therefore, it may not be available to the tourists anymore. The lack of funding for the Blue Ridge Parkway maintenance and small allocations of budget and finance is likely to hinder the progress and development in the County. Marketing Strategies The County is marketed and advertised through various strategies, though they are all conventional strategies and need to be revised. The tourist spots and recreation places are managed and marketed with the help of brochures and other print pieces which are produced by the collaboration of Chamber and Round the Mountain and regions; there are also various publications developed privately to inform the visitors regarding the place. The county is also advertised and promoted through the websites, which is maintained by numerous owners, including the Town, County and Chamber (Burns, Peter, and Andrew, 1995). The Floyd County also has some of the good writers and photographers, including bloggers, who are well aware of the local flavors and market them very well amongst the tourists. Besides the advertisement, the Virginia Travel Guide provides a good idea of the place to the tourists and makes them comfortable with the entertainment. Moreover, the publications such as Crooked Road Brochure and Blue Ridge Parkway Directory are also one of the ways to promote tourism in the Floyd County (Baker, Priscilla, 1995). There are occasional special placements in Blue Ridge Country and others regional publications. The public relations strategies, media advertisements, and guest's speakers talking of the place in various symposiums and classes are few of the many ways to promote tourism in the Floyd County. Mission Statement The mission statement for the Floyd County tourism plan is provided below: "To promote the unique cultural and natural resources of Floyd County, while preserving and enhancing our economic sustainability and quality of life." Floyd County embarks upon the promotion of the natural and cultural resources that it possesses to the people and places all across the world. Moreover, it exists to provide the tourists with the bets quality entertainments, and to avail the economic sustainability and quality of life for its local people. Vision Statement The tourism vision for the Floyd County is as follows: "Floyd County will be a prosperous, eclectic community in Southwest Virginia that maintains its small town charm, natural beauty, and unique attractions. The management at the county visualizes itself to be an eclectic and prosperous community in the entire Southwest Virginia. It tends to maintain and sustain its natural beauty, uniqueness, attraction, and charm in comparison to the other trust places that might attract the visitors. Goals and Objectives This section provides the strategic plan goals in the identified tourism, objectives, measures and relevant targets. Goal 1: Access the potential/target customers/visitors/tourists Objective1: Enhance/improve the communication with the prospective/ potential visitors Measure 1.1 : The Town and County have embarked upon establishing a committee for the tourism in order to peruse the implementation of the plan and serve in advisory role to local government. Measure 1.2: The state grant funding may be perused by the private sector and it will provide the needed match to produce a recognizable Floyd emblem in order to assist in the promotion and marketing process and make it unified and easier. Measure 1.3: The Floyd County will develop a comprehensive and complete tourism marketing plan for Floyd. Goal 2: Provide a good experience to the visitors in order to enhance the word of mouth promotions and repeat visitation Objective 2: Enhance/improve the tourism infrastructure and visitors services Measure 2.1 A comment card program will help in the beginning of measuring the customer service Measure 2.2: The VTC's customer service training can be provided to business Measure 2.3: An official, centralized visitor centre has to be established Measure 2.4: A pan for the visitor walking accessibility for shopping and events can be developed and implemented Goal 3: Provision of the sufficient funding for the promotion and development of the tourism Objective 3: Leverage/increase the funding and amounts of finances that are dedicated to the promotion and development of the tourism Measure 3.1: The private sector committee that has been set up will peruse the additional resources that are required for the promotion of the tourism encompassing the dialogue with the Town and County government Goal 4: Maintain the experience of Floyd and the sense of place for both the visitors and the locals Objective 4: Develop and promote the plan of tourism in a strategic, sustainable, approach to prevent from the non-organic and over-growth development Measure 4.1: The Company can request a parking analysis by the County and Town governments in order to enhance the parking available Measure 4.2: Review any land-related opportunities, to encourage protection of agriculture and farming Conclusion The Town of Floyd, the Town of Floyd, is such an area the significance of which has been recognized by both, the people and the business equally. The evidence of the recognition includes all the actions that have been undertaken to serve and support the development of the tourism. However, in the past, the tourism in this area has expanded and grown without any sort of centralized and official planning, and has turned into a larger tourism from a stakeholder group. The current strategic tourism plan for Floyd County intend to build upon past growth, and also provides the management and authorities a guidance towards the establishment of a sustainable tourist area in future. References Baker, Priscilla, (1995), Touring Historic Places: A Manual for Group Tour Operators and Managers of Historic and Cultural Attractions, Washington, DC: National Trust for Historic Preservation, Washington, DC: National Trust for Historic Preservation. Bourke, Lisa, A. E. Luloff., (1995), Leaders' Perspectives on Rural Tourism: Case Studies in Pennsylvania, Journal of the Community Development Society, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 224-39. Bruce, David, and Margaret Whitla, (1993), Tourism Strategies for Rural Development. Sackville, New Brunswick: Rural and Small Town ProgrammeBurr, Online. Burns, Peter, and Andrew Holden, (1995), Tourism: A New Perspective. London: Prentice Hall. pp. 45-48 Butler, Richard W., C. Michael Hall, and John Jenkins, (1998), Tourism and Recreation in Rural Areas. Chichester, U.K.: John Wiley, pp. 89-97, Print. Hall, C.M., (2008), Tourism Planning, Policies, Processes and Relationships, Prentice Hall, pp. 35-39, Print. Hiller, H., (2000), Mega-events, Urban Boosterism and Growth Strategies: An Analysis of the Objectives and Legitimations of the Cape Town 2004 Olympic Bid, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 24 (2): 439-458 Sem, John H., (1992), Tourism, Proceedings of a Regional Conference, October 16-18, Jackson, Mississippi. Southern Rural Development Center, Mississippi State University, Print. Steven W. (1995), The Rural Action Class's Perceptions of Tourism and its Potential for Economic Development: Case Studies from Four Rural Pennsylvania Counties, General Technical Report, Report No. INT-323: pp. 82-89, Print. Read More