By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-1773 ext. 281
Tom Nordlie

Source(s):
Taylor Stein tstein@ufl.edu, (352) 846-0860
Allen Tyree abt@mail.ifas.ufl.edu, (386) 792-1276
Tom Flanigan tom@flausa.com, (850) 488-5607 ext. 301

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JASPER, Fla.—To cash in on ecotourism — now the fastest growing segment of the nation’s $584 billion-a-year travel industry — rural communities need to flex their marketing muscles and promote their natural attractions more aggressively.

“Many of Florida’s best environmental attractions are hidden in out-of-the-way places that aren’t well known,” said Taylor Stein, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “Rural communities need to make visitors aware of these environmental jewels, or they will go to the mainstream tourist attractions that are heavily promoted.”

Stein said counties with the greatest potential and need for nature-based tourism often have few resources to market themselves effectively, so careful planning and patience are crucial. Promotional efforts should first target nearby communities, since they can be reached easily and inexpensively.

“The local market can be lucrative, because people generally have more opportunities to take day trips than vacations,” he said. “As word spreads that there is something valuable to visit in a county, more revenue will be generated, which makes it possible to market that destination to an even wider audience.”

In Florida alone, almost half of the state’s 63.5 million visitors took part in some form of nature-based tourism during 2000, said Tom Flanigan, spokesman for Visit Florida, the state’s official marketing corporation for tourism promotion.

Although marketing is important, Stein said it could bring a lot of tourists into rural communities and actually ruin the very cultural and natural attributes that attracted them in the first place. For that reason, marketing plans promoting ecotourism must be carefully conceived and managed, he said.

As an example of what rural counties can do on a small marketing budget, Stein pointed to Hamilton County, which started its efforts with $5,000 in 1996. While the county — population 14,400 — is ranked among Florida’s poorest, a cooperative marketing effort between local business and the state is attracting area residents as well as some of the 70,000 people who pass through the county each day on Interstate 75.

As a result, the county is becoming increasingly popular for nature-based tourism in North Florida. He said ecotourism also could give the local economy a needed boost at a time when income is declining from traditional agricultural crops such as field corn and small grains.

One of Hamilton County’s better-known natural attractions is Big Shoals Public Lands, home of Florida’s largest tract of white-water rapids. Three major rivers — the Suwannee, Withlacoochee and Alapaha — converge in the county, providing boating, canoeing and fishing opportunities. Nearby woodlands offer hunting, bird watching, hiking and mountain biking.

Working with the Hamilton County Chamber of Commerce and a local print shop, UF’s Hamilton County extension Director Allen Tyree helped educate voters about a county referendum on a local bed tax on hotel rooms that would be used to help bring tourists to the area. The referendum passed in 1996.

Now generating $40,000 per year, the bed tax enabled the county to produce a promotional map, video and brochure.

In addition to local public and private involvement, rural counties can benefit by seeking assistance from state agencies as well, Tyree said.

In Hamilton County, for example, in March 2001 the state opened the Florida Nature and Heritage Tourism Center in White Springs, providing visitors with a one-stop source for information on natural, cultural and historic attractions. In addition, the area’s water management district provided road signs and parking lots to help visitors access the Big Shoals area more easily.

“Part of marketing nature-based tourism is providing amenities,” Tyree said. “Ideally, we want visitors to stay around for a few days. Hamilton County is slowly but surely developing more businesses associated with nature-based tourism, and hopefully it’s just a matter of time before the county hits critical mass and becomes a major destination in North Florida.”

Effective ecotourism marketing programs can help other rural counties achieve similar success as they have had in Hamilton County, he said.

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