Cultural Heritage Tourism Workshops
The Heritage Tourism Program offers a variety of workshop formats that are customized to the needs of the client. Contact program staff, amy_webb@nthp.org or carolyn_brackett@nthp.org to discuss your workshop needs and to obtain workshop fee information.
Introduction to Cultural Heritage Tourism
This half-day or one-day workshop provides a comprehensive introduction to cultural heritage tourism. The presentation includes an overview of cultural heritage tourism trends, demographics of cultural heritage travelers, and an in-depth look at the Five Principles and Four Steps of successful and sustainable cultural heritage tourism.
The workshop includes examples of success stories and best practices from across the country. The workshop also includes an opportunity for group discussion or breakout groups for participants to apply what they have learned in making plans for their own communities.
Interpreting Cultural Heritage in Your Community
Making sites and communities come alive is the focus of this one-day workshop. The workshop includes instruction on how to tell the story of your site or community, understanding interpretive methods and how to attract and engage visitors. Examples of various forms of interpretation will be given. Participants will learn how to choose appropriate interpretive tools – such as brochures, driving tours, walking tours, museums, exhibits, audiotours and tour guides—and will discuss plans for their own interpretive projects.
Marketing Your Community's Cultural Heritage
This one-day workshop helps participants learn how to collaborate with the tourism industry and to attract visitors to their community or region. Topics include an overview of current trends in cultural heritage tourism and instruction on the tools of marketing. Attendees participate in exercises to define their community's message and to develop strategies using public relations, advertising, tourism industry sales and other marketing tools. (To prepare for this workshop, Heritage Tourism staff will review current marketing activities and developing an agenda that will improve or enhance the existing plan. It is not necessary for a community to have a marketing plan as the workshop can also be a beginning point for plan development.)
Making Your Community Visitor Ready
Understanding and planning for the needs of visitors is the focus of this half-day workshop. The presentation will discuss why visitor-oriented customer service is important, how the needs of tourists differ from residents, operating visitor-friendly retail establishments and attractions and cultivating hospitable front-line tourism employees. Participants will receive materials and instruction to assist them in evaluating their community's visitor readiness.
Share Your Heritage: Strategic Planning
These 1½ to 2 day workshops are designed to address specific cultural heritage tourism issues facing participants in their communities or region. The workshop brings together 30-40 invited participants representing a variety of disciplines such as tourism, historic preservation, arts, environment, government and community planning. Sessions include cross-discipline training and interactive work groups developing strategic plans for their cultural heritage tourism program. Two expert national faculty members provide presentations and facilitate the work sessions. The lead faculty member, a member of the Heritage Tourism Program staff, also assists local organizers with pre-workshop planning and preparing a written action plan following the workshop. (For examples of the curriculum materials used in these workshops, visit www.culturalheritagetourism.org and look under How to Get Started.)
