BETHEL — Close to 100 people packed the Bethel Inn dining room Jan. 15 for the Bethel Area Communities Tourism Summit.

David Buerle, who is CEO and Founder of Future iQ, a company that focuses on strategic planning, gave almost an hour long presentation, going over trends he’s observed at the global and regional level, and talking about how rural areas like Bethel can capitalize on them and create a strong and sustainable tourism industry.

Buerle explained that recent mass urbanization has occurred in many parts of the United States, leading to a sizable population increase in urban areas. He thinks this trend may work to rural area’s advantages if they can create that ideal experience tourists will be seeking.

“We think people living in the city are going to be craving that outdoor experience,” Buerle said.

“There’s an opportunity here to massively expand the tourism industry,” he added.

Buerle believes outdoor recreation tourism will play a huge role in making Bethel a more appealing destination.

He laid out some key factors that Bethel will need to prioritize in the coming years to sustain its tourism. Environmental and community impacts, visitor experience and financial and social benefits were a few factors Buerle touched on.

The second part of the workshop saw people from the audience, which largely consisted of business owners, town officials and selectmen, and other people involved in area tourism, discuss and display their thoughts on the five strategic pillars of tourism: Tourism workforce and housing development, regional collaboration and communication, making distinct and memorable visitor experiences, working on community engagement, and expanding on green and environmental options.

Several ideas were listed under each poster (five posters with a strategic pillar listed on each of them) and people went around the room and left stickers under the ideas they thought were most important on each pillar. Sticky notes were also available for people who wanted to provide written ideas and feedback.

Below are some of the ideas under each pillar that were prioritized by attendees.

Green and environmental options: Renewable energy, like installing additional electric vehicle charging stations, developing solar farms, and finding a way to properly incorporate wind power into the community received a lot of stickers. Easier access to composting sites and creating a community garden that has little influence from the outside, also received a lot of attention.

Tourism workforce and housing development: Cost friendly daycares and housing overwhelmingly got the most support from area citizens in this pillar. One person wrote that more development should occur closer to town resources, like grocery stores, restaurants, shops, etc.

Regional collaboration and communication: Looking ahead, many believed the best route to go would be for the four towns (Bethel, Greenwood, Woodstock and Newry) to join together and form five- to 10-year plans focusing on the economy, infrastructure, sewage, broadband, parking and transportation.

Visitor experience: Doing a follow up on visitors by collecting data in order to “identify visitor, amplify offerings, develop new experiences and expand existing experiences,” received a lot of attention. Another person posted a note saying “Make Main Street more charming.”

Creating community engagement: The two runaway ideas were creating recreational spaces for children and “documenting and promoting the positive economic impact of tourism in the Bethel area.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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