Posts Tagged: tourism
Butte County Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) will help develop agritourism
Brooke Smith, sales manager at the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn in Chico, promises that Explore Butte County, the non-profit organization funded by the TBID, will help with things such as promoting agricultural tourism, Lake Oroville and local cities. Smith explained that Explore Butte County intends to establish a grant program that will assist local partners, including agritourism operations, in their promotions. Board members of Explore Butte County are primarily hotel and motel operators, but the board also includes Nicole Johansson, a marketing professional and organizer of the popular Sierra Oro Farm Trail.
In the TBID process, local lodging operators agree to assess themselves and ask the local government to collect the money and pass the funds onto a designated tourism promotion organization, often times the Visitors and Convention Bureau or a non-profit organization such as Explore Butte County. Many county and cities in California have established TBIDs, including Napa Valley, Sacramento County, Placer County, Monterey County, San Diego, Long Beach and Oceanside. By the end of 2014, there were 85 California TBIDs. Many of these communities, including Butte County, were assisted by Civitas, a consulting firm specializing in TBID formation.
The next step for Explore Butte County is to hire a marketing firm to work with the board on the tourism marketing strategic plan and implementation program. The marketing RFP has just been released, and proposals are due by June 30 from any interested parties. Local Butte County marketing firms are specifically invited to submit proposals. Please send any questions pertaining to the RFP via email to xplorebutte@gmail.com
Agritourism Classes Offered to SJV Farmers and Ranchers
Are you considering agritourism or nature tourism on your farm or ranch? Would you like to build your agritourism or nature tourism business?
This class is for you!
-
Local pioneering agritourism operators will share their own experiences and will be part of a supportive network of advisors as class participants plan and start new enterprises.
-
Participants will learn from experts in business planning, regulatory compliance, risk management, hospitality and cost-effective marketing, including social media.
-
The hands-on, interactive activities will guide participants as they assess their own farms or ranches for agritourism potential and start their own business, risk management and marketing plans.
The University of California Cooperative Extension Fresno County and the UC Small Farm Program in partnership with the Fresno County Farm Bureau and the Fresno-Clovis Convention & Visitors Bureau will offer a three-session agritourism planning course for farmers and ranchers in Fresno and greater San Joaquin Valley region who are starting or expanding visitor-serving on-farm businesses.
Participants will learn about the variety of potential businesses, including wineries, farm stands, U-Pick operations, event hosting, ranch vacations, pumpkin patches, corn mazes and outdoor recreation.
Each participant will receive a free copy of the just-published second edition of the extensive handbook, “Agritourism and Nature Tourism in California,” which will be used as a text for the class. Attendees will assess their farm or ranch agritourism potential, hear from experienced agritourism operators, as well as experts in business planning, risk management, regulatory compliance and marketing, and will receive individual guidance in planning, starting or growing their own agritourism or nature tourism businesses.
Class sessions are set for Thursday, Dec. 8, 2011; Wednesday, Jan. 25 and Wednesday, March 14, 2012, at the Fresno County Farm Bureau, 1274 W. Hedges Ave., Fresno from 8 a.m. to noon. Each session will be followed by a networking social. Cost is $25 prior to Dec. 1; $30 after Dec. 1.
For more information, or to register, contact:
Penny Leff at palegg@ucdavis.edu or 530-752-7779, or visit http://ucanr.org/agtour.fresno.11.
UC farm advisor speaks up for local tourism
Maxwell Norton, a Merced County UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor and acting director of UCCE in Mariposa County, provided extensive information to a Merced Sun-Star reporter about efforts to encourage tourism in Merced County and educate visitors about local agricultural roots.
About a year ago, a group of agriculturists got together and starting brainstorming on ways to increase ag tourism, Norton told reporter Carol Reiter. The group formed "Country Ventures" and decided on two goals: To bring more visitor-related dollars into the county and to increase people's knowledge of agriculture.
"We decided it would be good to have an audio tour for Highway 140 from Merced to Mariposa," Norton was quoted. "The highway is so heavily used. That was the logical place to start."
The group prepared a series of recordings that visitors can listen to in their cars while driving the historic roadway that connects the valley floor to Yosemite National Park. MP3 files can be downloaded from the Country Ventures' website. In addition, the recordings are being compiled on CDs to be distributed at the California Visitor Center in Merced.
The recordings include information on:
- Points of historical interest, like the highest grave marker in California
- Types of agricultural crops being grown, including almonds, peaches, and pistachios
- History of local communities, such as Planada, which was laid out like Paris, France
- Signs of early Native American residents, like pictographs
- Wildlife and wildlife habitat, including vernal pools
- Geological features
- Gold Rush history
"Our target audience is people from other states and other countries," the article quoted Norton. "We want people to realize the San Joaquin Valley has a lot to offer in itself. It's not just a place to get through on your way to Yosemite."
Norton is one of two narrators on the audio recordings.
Maxwell Norton.