A half-day workshop custom-designed to help Umpqua Valley area organizations and businesses succeed in heritage tourism will take place June 15 in Roseburg. The workshop will give you information, examples, working tools, new contacts and networking opportunities to strengthen your own attraction as a draw and build collaborations that create uniquely satisfying visitor experiences. The workshop is titled “Succeeding with Heritage Tourism: Market Information, Resources and Ideas for Attracting More Visitors through Creative Collaboration.” According to past participant, Sarah LeCompte and Oregon Heritage Commissioner, heritage tourism workshops held in eastern Oregon in spring of 2016 paved the way for a stellar year of visitation, with many heritage and cultural sites reporting visitation increases up to 15-20%. “Looking for opportunities to collaborate and cross market to build new audiences, they learned about the need to start connecting heritage attractions with other activities that might not seem compatible at first glance. Museum and brew pub? Historic sites and street fairs and bicycle rentals? Art gallery to museum to fishing spot?” notes LeCompte, “It’s easy to get focused on promoting our own area of interest, and forgetting that most humans generally have more than one favorite past-time, and want a travel and vacation experience to match their unique set of interests.” The workshop will run from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15 at Jasmine’s Catering and Event Center, 809 SE Main Street in Roseburg. The workshop is free, but registration is required. Register online at www.oregonheritage.org . For more information, contact Kuri Gill at 503-986-0685 or kuri.gill@oregon.gov . The workshop is sponsored by the Oregon Heritage Commission, part of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department using statewide partner funds provided by the Oregon Cultural Trust.
