TOURISM “TOURISM” RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES By William A. Galston and Karen J. Baehler Prepared by Peiwen Wang PLAN 740

Tourism Tourism is one of few areas that helped rural areas economically, not just providing opportunities for the localities but also nationally and internationally. Tourism is the primary reason for the success of many high-growth rural areas, mostly in South.

3 Fundamental Challenges 1.Export-based development and exporting physical goods. 2.Create new analytical category for tourism counties, and isolate tourism as a separate sector. 3.Create equity, provide quality jobs that benefits the community.

Tourism for Rural Areas Although tourism is a growing industry, and proved to be a reliable source of economic growth for rural communities, but not all rural communities can count on it as a significant source of new jobs. Strategies for better managing the public costs associated with tourism development are essential. Including regional cooperative ventures among neighboring jurisdictions and public-private partnership models for financing new construction, renovation and other related investment.

Tourism for Rural Areas Tourism mainly are comprised of small businesses, which it offers tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs in the local region. Communities need to seek solutions to improve the quality, wage, benefit, stability and opportunity of tourism- related employment. Tourism development involves a community’s way of life. Collective action is needed to protect the local population and culture.

What is Tourism? The primary industries include in tourism are: –Hotels –Motels –Restaurants –Transportation –Amusements –Recreational facilities

National and International Trends Between , the national travel and tourism industry reported a 15% growth in sales. In 1986, domestic and foreign travelers spend $269 billion in the United States. In 1987, 66% person trips are vacation related; 16% are for personal travel; 18% are for business.

Trends $34 billion of federal, state and local tax were collected from tourism related activity. In 1986, the tourism industry provided 5.21 million jobs, which paid $57.8 billion of wages. About 90% of all tourism related businesses are so-called “small businesses” according to federal government’s definition.

Trends 46 out of 50 states in the United States considers tourism as the top three revenue producing industries. Between , according to the U.S. Travel Data Center, each states spend total of $284 million on tourism development. Some states even granted cabinet level status to their travel and tourism agencies.

Trends In 1980, tourism is consider as an export equivalent or substitute. Foreign visitors would bring outside cash into the U.S. economy and contributes to easing the trade deficit. The low value of the dollar makes travel within the U.S. a better bargain for both Americans and visitors from other countries. Consequently, the flow of foreign tourist is expected to continue to increase, while more Americans are expected to take their vacations within the U.S.

Tourism in Question “Every community has a tourism industry; every community can have a better tourism industry.” – Uel Blank Although tourism industry was growing fast, but some experts were questioning the future of tourism. On one hand, Americans seem to have more disposable income to spend on travel, and technologies are making it easier and more convenient to plan a trip. But on the other hand, studies also showing Americans with less leisure time on their hand. The number working couples increased while traditional family has decreased.

The Rural Picture While tourism is booming in recent years, there is no solid information on rural tourism. The reason is because the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture- a key source of data on rural trends, has no separate category for rural counties with tourism dependent economies and does not calculate performance indicators for urban or rural tourism related industry. From the limited evidence available from two studies, it suggested tourism was one of just a few significant contributor to rural growth during 1970s to 1980s.

The Rural Picture In 1989, the South Growth Policies Board’s reported that tourism was one of the top three growth factors for rural areas in the South between 1977 –1984. –Of 816 rural counties in the South, 7.5% of their labor forces employed in tourism related jobs. –18 southern rural counties also experienced 50% of employment growth.

Economic Development Strategies Ingredients for success in tourism: –Distinctive natural or historical attractions –Leadership from local individuals, willing to spearhead the tourism effort. –Public support. –Cooperation from all local enterprises. –Tourism development plan.

Creating Amenities Asset theory of tourism – successful tourism development depends on availability of some immobile attraction that people want to visit (natural, historical, cultural). “The benefits of a viable tourism industry are available to nearly all communities… potential for expansion is limited only by the vision and initiative of their people.”— Uel Blank

Entrepreneurship 99% of tourism-related establishments qualify as small business. “As few as one out of 15 develop beyond the ‘ma and pa’ stage.” – Uel Blank Gregerman’s the most important elements of an entrepreneurial environment: –Committed local leadership –A pool of entrepreneurial talent –Knowledge about opportunities –Sources of innovation –Access to capital –Community spirit

Partnership Most small rural communities with limited public resources cannot handle the cost of tourism development alone. Therefore, it is a good idea to involve private investors and other local governments in the planning process. A community with minimum tourism assets may benefit from joining with neighboring communities to create a secondary tourism site near the main attraction.

Jobs and Equity Between , Behind the Glitter conducted a study that compares quality of life measure in 84 selected high-growth, tourism dependent counties in the rural South, among their findings: –Despite dramatic overall job numbers, unemployment rates rose and remained above national average. –Despite the hotel industry is dominated by female workers, women’s unemployment rate remain higher than men. Also women earned less than half of men earned. –The poverty rate for female-head households were increasing, and family median income remained below the national average. –These counties experienced much higher than average population growth, mostly whites.

Jobs and Equity Steps to take in address the issues of indigenous jobs and distributional equity in tourism development: –Provide more and better training for employees at all levels with in the tourism industry. –Draw entrepreneurs from a large pool of local residents. –Increase demands by host communities on those businesses that benefit from expanding tourism. –Conduct further research on employment patterns in the rural tourism industry.

“Tourism involves more than the simple addition of a few new businesses and jobs to the economic mix of a local community. It involves an entire way of life, which tends to transform the existing patterns of land ownership, indigenous culture, political relationships and the economic base.”