Texas says 'yes' to rural promotion

By MINDY POEHL | Central Texas Edition

Dec. 2, 2004 - A 50 percent increase in rural tourism dollars is what business and community leaders from small towns across Texas anticipate from utilizing the new ideas they learned at the Texas Yes! Bootstrap Marketing rural tourism workshops held last summer and fall.

"Bootstrap Marketing: Kicking Up Tourism in Rural Texas" offered hands-on training for rural communities, allowing them to increase their tourism efforts, attract more money and boost economic growth.

The previous workshops were held in Bandera, Brenham, Kingsville, Stephenville and Snyder. However, because of good feedback, more workshops will be held Dec. 6 and 7 in Uvalde and Dec. 8 and 9 in Cuero. In February, workshops with the dates to be determined later will be held in Jasper and Fort Stockton, and Seabrook, Canyon, Weslaco and Brady in May or June.

The two-day workshop is sponsored by the Texas Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism.

"This is a part of the Texas Departments of Agriculture's new Texas Yes! initiative to help market and promote rural tourism in Texas," explained Beth Hallmark, editor for marketing information with TDA.

One hundred percent of the attendees reported that they learned new ideas at the workshops. Further research indicated that the workshops were successful in targeting rural communities, with 90 percent of the attendees coming from communities with a population of 25,000 or less, Hallmark said.

Speakers include nationally recognized experts that speak on positioning rural communities for success, heavyweight promotions on a lightweight budget, measuring impact, building tourism "experiences," linking up with the right resources and funding and locating, securing and keeping sponsors.

"At the previous workshops, Bruce Erly (the president of Creative Strategies Group) was a big speaker. He had hands-on exercises and even used some real life examples from each city," Toni King, coordinator of special projects with the TDA, said. "He spoke about marketing on a shoestring budget and success and quantification. He talked about how to get a bang for your buck."

Anyone from Chamber of Commerce representatives, to people who put on any events, such as festivals or sponsorships, attend the workshops, King said.

"The audience is people who live and work in rural industries," Hallmark said. "We had a wide mix of attendees from across Texas and we are continuing the workshops so we can spread them throughout Texas. We had great feedback on our surveys and positive responses."

As each workshop rolls into different towns, each host city is able to sell their town to everyone, King said. And, the money that is earned at the workshops is given back to that community.

"There is something there for everyone," said King. "There was a lot of networking going on and many people's confidence was built up."

"It was a chance for people with similar resources to share their ideas," added Hallmark. "Each person learned how to take it to the next level."

As tourists spend $2.5 billion per year going to rural communities, tourism can have a tremendous impact.

"Small towns have a unique niche to offer, and these workshops allow those rural towns to show off that small town charm," Hallmark said.

For more information visit the Texas Yes! website at www.TexasYes.org or call (866) 4TEX-YES. Cost is $75 for a two-day session or $60 for one session only.