Tourism putting area on the map
Just in time for spring break, Envision 2020 has created a map for the five-county River Region that organizers hope will help mark a path to greater economic prosperity.
The project, unveiled Monday, is the latest from Envision, a nonprofit group that is leading an effort to promote long-range planning for growth and development in the region. Spearheaded by the group’s tourism and economic development task force, the map project is intended to help fuel the region’s economy by enhancing its potential as a tourist destination.
The River Region Attraction Guide, as the map is called, highlights tourist destinations throughout Montgomery, Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes and Macon counties in an effort to boost central Alabama’s share of the state’s $6.5 billion tourism industry. Some 20,000 copies of the map will be distributed through area chambers of commerce, the Montgomery Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and area hotels.
Lynn Beshear, executive director of Envision 2020, called the map “another tool in the toolbox” and encouraged groups to disseminate the map along with existing information about their local areas.
Beshear said promoting tourism on a regional level makes sense because when you are on a trip, “you don’t care where the county lines are.”
Organizers anticipate the current supply of maps will last until July, at which time the task force will evaluate the project and make any necessary changes. They will also need to look at ongoing funding for the project.
As part of the planning process, representatives of each of the five counties submitted potential sites for the map. More than 200 entries eventually were whittled down to 65, stretching from the Tuskegee National Forest to the Prattaugan Museum and Heritage Center in Prattville to Priester’s Pecans in Fort Deposit.
In narrowing the list, organizers chose cultural, historical and environmental sites they hope will lure a wide range of travelers, whether the visitors have a few days to spend in the area or only a few hours.
Thomas Miller, chairman of the tourism and economic development task force and a member of the Prattville City Council, said the group listed the “signature” places—such as the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, where the news conference was held. They avoided “drive-by” sites—such as some historical markers—in favor of places where visitors could spend an extended period, he said.
They also eliminated one-time events that would only be useful at a specific time of year.
The map was designed by LWT Communications, a Montgomery-based ad agency, during its annual 24-hour CreateAThon, in which the agency donates a calendar day to serving area nonprofits.
The Envision map was one of nine projects chosen from 35 applicants last year. About eight people worked on the map project, which turned out to be a 92-hour endeavor, “a little more than our 24 that we had planned, but it was well worth it,” said Cindy Scott, a representative of the company.
The estimated value of the work was about $8,000.
Walker Printing, one of the agency’s vendors, contributed 5,000 free copies. The other 15,000 were paid for by the Macon County Racing Commission