Congratulations to Cori Day, our new Tourism Director whose first day on the job is this week. I believe this is one of the most important positions in City Hall. Independence is on the map not for minor-league sports but for our major-league history. And while many other industries are experiencing a downturn, heritage tourism continues to be strong. Reports indicate that visitors to Missouri spent $8 billion while traveling through our state last year. Independence, one of the most historic communities in Missouri, has a lot to offer travelers and tourists, and happens to be on one of the most traveled corridors, I-70. Here is a list of ideas and advice for Cori as she begins this important job:
1) Do a complete audit of the bed-tax (tourism) revenue and the way we handle tourism statistics. Review where past budgets have gone and how sites handle head-counts. It would not surprise me to see staff, volunteers, and even the janitor counted as tourists at some sites.
2) Revive the 12-year-old endeavor to establish a Tourism Visitor’s Center in the old Courthouse. County officials say it will take $8 million for a complete restoration of the interior. Just in the last 10 years, city officials have actually collected $8.5 million in bed-tax revenue that has been designated only to be used for tourism. The resources appear to be available with appropriate planning and priorities.
3) Establish an “Interim” Tourism Visitor’s Center somewhere on the Square until the Courthouse restoration project is complete. Maybe ICC would be interested in partnering in an interim (or permanent) facility using proceeds from Santa-Cali-Gon.
4) Use the Tourism Advisory Board to actually provide advice and input. They are not just there to coordinate schedules and statistics.
5) Push Missouri officials to replace the current under-performing Tourism Welcome Center at the Truman Sports Complex. Again, and as reported on the blog of 10-15-09, “Last Place in the Standings”, it has the lowest head counts of all the state’s Welcome Centers. Yes, even the center in Eagleville, Missouri (population 321) exceeded Kansas City’s head counts by a whopping 50 percent. “Really?” Partner with the State to implement a new state-of-the-art facility at Little Blue Parkway & I-70 with a satellite location at the Independence Square Courthouse.
6) Push Missouri officials to place KC area or, yes, even Independence citizens to serve on both the Missouri Tourism Commission and the Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Currently, nobody from the Kansas City region serves on either of these important boards. There are reasons Western Missouri routinely gets left out from the resources coming from Jeff City.
7) Consider reserving tourism budget for sidewalk improvements along historical interpretive paths, maintenance and updates to interpretive signs, and improvements to the National Trails Center such as an elevator to open up additional space on the second floor.
8) Don’t allow other activities in City Hall not related to heritage tourism to use those designated tourism funds. The Events Center was sold to citizens as an investment that pays its own way and that it does not take resources from other parts of town, and in particular, Old Town.
9) Don’t forget the sesquicentennial anniversaries of the local battles and conflicts of the Civil War and Border War in Independence coming up in just a few short years. Coordinate with outside groups and plan events at the battlefield sites.
Under the current direction of the city, none of the above has happened nor is it likely to happen anytime soon until we, as a community, get over our historical self-esteem problems, our short sightedness in vision, and our hearing problems (listening to folks again who say there is no problem we cannot solve without another sales tax). Independence, once called the “Royal Suburbs” and “The Queen City of the Trails”, is now referred to recently in the New York Times as the “Hardscrabble Suburb.” You won’t see that word used in promotional brochures from the local economic development folks.
The tourism reformation is a good way to start bringing this culture to the people. The old buildings and monuments must be restored because that is always an attraction, even if it is a small town. When I travelled to Argentina, I was staying in this apartment in buenos aires near the Cabildo, an important part of thh country´s history. Hundreds of people visited it every day!
ReplyDeleteJulie