The first step in heritage tourism development is to determine current resources that would support heritage tourism.

Are more visitors wanted? Can more visitors be supported? What resources are available that visitors would want to see? Effective heritage tourism development requires that the benefits and challenges are understood, existing and potential historic and cultural tourism attractions are identified and assessed, the audience is identified, appropriate visitor services are available, and good customer service is provided. An honest assessment of these issues is the first step.

The goal in the assessment is not just to list resources, but to evaluate potential quality and level of service. This first assessment will provide baseline data that can be used to measure progress and help make key decisions as the heritage tourism program develops.

Evaluate your assets in these three areas:

  1. Attractions
  2. Target Audience
  3. Visitor Services

Is Heritage Tourism Right for You?

The baseline assessment will help determine if heritage tourism is right for a site or community. Heritage tourism can deliver economic, social, and environmental benefits to communities that thoughtfully and successfully develop it. It is not implemented, however, without some cost. When developing a heritage tourism site, the community and the resources must come first, and the benefits must be seen as more than economic. To make this decision, a community must evaluate the following:

  • How heritage tourism can meet community needs
  • The trade-off between the benefits of heritage tourism and the costs and liabilities it imposes
  • Community interest in heritage tourism

Benefits of Heritage Tourism

In addition to the economic impact, heritage tourism produces other intangible benefits. It educates visitors about the proud and rich heritage of Texas and brings people in the tourism, preservation, and economic development communities together with a common purpose.

Heritage tourism can improve the quality of life and contribute to a sense of community pride. Benefits include the following:

  • Promotes preservation and protection of resources
  • Brings in new money and generates tax revenues
  • Creates new jobs, businesses, and attractions
  • Supports small businesses
  • Diversifies the local economy
  • Helps support community amenities
  • Creates opportunities for partnerships
  • Attracts visitors interested in history and preservation
  • Increases historic attraction revenues
  • Preserves local traditions and culture
  • Generates local investment in historic resources
  • Increases awareness of the site or area’s significance
  • Enhances the community’s image and pride

Considerations for Heritage Tourism Development

To make an informed decision, sites and communities should also consider the challenges of heritage tourism development, including the following:

  • People-pressure on local resources may cause site deterioration.
  • Heritage tourism may conflict with resident demands on public services and facilities.
  • Heritage tourism requires operational and capital costs.
  • In some communities, opposition develops between heritage tourism and community goals.
  • Heritage tourism is often seasonal.

Inventories

When deciding to pursue heritage tourism development, it is imperative to begin with an honest appraisal of assets, including existing attractions and those with potential for development. Both historical and physical inventories are essential for characterizing sites and activities. They answer two questions — “Where have we been?” and “Where are we now?” This leads to the next question, fundamental to all planning: “Where do we go from here?” Research will help identify the overall theme of a heritage tourism program, and it is a step in the process that should not be skipped. It is important to identify the assets that exist before they can be preserved and promoted.

Historical inventories should indicate:

  • What was on the site at a particular point in time?
  • Who owned the site and how have ownership patterns changed over the years?
  • What is significant about the site or ownership during this particular point in time?
  • Why does the site look the way it does today?
  • What use limitation does the site present?
  • What are the site’s limitations?

 Physical inventories should describe:

  • The geographic location of sites and activities within a community
  • The types of resources and attractions present at those individual sites
  • The condition of the facilities on site
  • The needs to be addressed at the sites

Other considerations before proceeding with heritage tourism development include infrastructure and visitor services such as:

Restrooms. One of the most basic visitor needs at a tourism site is a public restroom. Make restrooms available and keep them clean.

Parking. Is there sufficient parking at the site? If bus tours are desired at the site, is there ample parking?

Lodging. Since heritage tourists pay for lodging more often than staying with family and friends, does the community have enough overnight accommodations? Heritage tourists spend more time in the communities where they stay and prefer bed-and-breakfasts and vacation rentals to chain hotels.

Dining. All tourists love to eat. Are there a variety of restaurants in the community? Family-owned and historic restaurants and coffee shops are especially popular with heritage tourists.

Shopping. Shopping is a favorite pastime of most tourists. Heritage tourists are not different, and some particularly enjoy antiquing. Are there plenty of stores, including antique stores and specialty shops, near the site?

Hours of operation. Is the site open regular hours? Nothing is more frustrating to a visitor than to travel to a site during regular business hours only to discover it is closed. Establishing and abiding by posted hours of operation is essential to visitor satisfaction.

Wayfinding. Signs serve two purposes: they direct people to the site and advertise it to others. Is directional and informational signage sufficient at the site? If visitors have difficulty finding the site, their perception of it is damaged even before they arrive.

City gateway signage should also be clean and attractive because tourists form impressions based on these signs.

Customer service. After determining the needs of tourists and ensuring the site meets those needs, follow with good customer service. Abide by the six Texas Friendly Hospitality Habits set forth by the Texas Friendly Hospitality Program—Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service:

  • Make a good first impression
  • Know your job
  • Know your community
  • Communicate clearly
  • Handle problems effectively
  • Make a good last impression

All communities should conduct hospitality training on a regular basis and encourage front-line employees to attend. Regardless of a site’s overall appeal, if visitors receive poor customer service, they will not return. For further information on becoming a hospitality instructor or to obtain a list of qualified instructors in the area, contact Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.

Audience Analysis

Once the inventory process is complete, it is important to gain solid information regarding the anticipated audience. “The more you learn about who your visitors are, where they are coming from, and their motive and expectations for their visit with you, the better you can design programs or services (present your story) to relate to their particular interests and needs” (Veverka, 1994, p. 52). While developing a heritage tourism destination, evaluate who the current and desired visitors are and what they want.

Two levels of visitor analysis should be undertaken in the planning process. The first is a visitor or market analysis that uses demographics to identify the market. Visitor demographics allow a planner to identify where visitors are coming from, visitor socio-economic backgrounds, daily, seasonal, and yearly-use patterns, and age and gender differences. Once a general market base has been identified, the second level of visitor analysis can occur. This identifies the market group of the site. The analysis will identify what type of visitor will most likely utilize the site. Examples of market groups include traditional families, adults, empty nesters, the elderly, bus tours, fifth graders, or certain clubs. It is necessary to identify the market group because each of the groups will have different needs and expectations when visiting the site (Veverka, 1994).

The purpose of the audience research is to learn something new. Avoid asking the question if the answer is already known or if it is available from another source.

Methods of Analysis

“There is no one method universally applicable to all audience analysis situations. The essential requirement is that whatever option you choose, for whatever size project, the study should be carried out with thoroughness and precision.”

Different situations and audiences, as well as research goals and techniques, require different methods for collecting data. A beginning researcher should select a method that allows the information to be easily recorded, analyzed, and interpreted. Below is a list of commonly used methods. Each of these methods is complex, and further research, information, and assistance should be gathered before development:

  • Questionnaires
  • Observations
  • Tally sheets
  • Pre- and post-tests
  • Audio and video tapes
  • Photographs
  • Film
  • Telephone, email, and social media surveys
  • Focus groups
  • Interviews
  • Guest sign-in books/devices
  • Recording license plates from the parking lot
Sampling Basics
Depending on the total audience size, sampling 10 to 20 percent is a good standard.
Sample at all times of the day, week, and year, as well as during special events.

Sources: Developing Tourism in Your Community, Texas Agriculture Extension Service, Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Sciences, College Station, Texas, January 1997; Hood, Marilyn G., Getting Started in Audience Research, Museum News, v. 64, #3, February 1986; Veverka, John A. 1994. Interpretive Master Planning. Falcon Press Publishing Co.: Helena, Montana; Westphal, Jane., Unpublished Notes. Recreation and Parks Research and Analysis. Texas A&M University, College of Agriculture, College Station, Texas, 1985.

Worksheets

The following worksheets from the University of Minnesota Extension's Tourism Center are provided to help guide you through Step 1 of the planning process: