For many people, summer is the time for vacation. It is a time to go places, see unusual sites, and experience new adventures.

If you have been on a vacation recently, you know that a good vacation is not cheap. But you should realize that people do not usually plan their vacations to be cheap. They know what they want to do, and they don't mind paying for it as long as it is a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

Very few people consider Robeson County to be a vacation site. Who would want to go to Robeson County? The truth is, very few people want to go to Robeson County simply because very few people identify their travel and vacation plans with a county. When is the last time you heard someone tell you they were going to Orange County, Florida, for their vacation instead of telling you they were going to Disney World? People plan their travel and vacations around cities, special attractions, unusual places, their hobbies, and their special interests.

It is highly unlikely that anyone, other than those who live here, identify with Robeson County. But you might be surprised to know the large number of people who make their travel and vacation plans around Lumberton, one of the other cities in the county, one of the many festivals that are held in the county, the Lumber River, the Regional Farmers Market, the Robeson Regional Agricultural Fair, the Givens Performing Arts Center, or one of the other many sites within our county.

There is a newly formed group in the county that is trying to help make some changes. The Robeson Tourism Development Association has recently been formed to help bring people in the county together to better develop, plan, and market local tourist opportunities. This group meets the first Wednesday of each month. If you are interested in tourism as an economic development tool, please give me a call. I will update you on what is currently going on in the county and will let you know where the next meeting of this group will be held.

According to the latest statistics I could find, tourism contributed almost $115 million to the Robeson County economy last year. That's million, not thousands. More than 1,100 jobs in our county can be attributed directly to the travel and tourism business. These jobs result in a payroll of over $17 million each year. The state and local taxes collected from travelers in our county amounted to over $7 million. This equates to about a $55 tax savings for each county resident.

So where am I going with this discussion about vacations, travelers, and tourism? We have to realize that the vast majority of our tourism business is simply because we are located on the most traveled interstate highway on the east coast and located very conveniently about half way between where most travelers are from and where they are going. As an award-winning brochure developed by our Economic Development Office states -- "Main Street" of the east coast, Interstate 95, passes directly through Robeson County, and Robeson County sits directly in the middle of "Main Street."

The vast majority of travelers simply stop here to spend the night, gas up, and eat. I seriously doubt there are any opportunities for private business, the county, or one of the cities in the county to develop any kind of tourism attraction that will entice travelers to come from up north or from down south to spend a week and then go back home. Instead, our greatest opportunity is to provide travelers who do come through our county with other things to do while they are here. Better still, we should look for opportunities that will create a reason for them to look forward to spending an extra night or two as they travel through our great county.

The greatest opportunities for us are not one single attraction that will hire hundreds of workers and attract thousands of visitors. Our greatest opportunities are for many small attractions that require only three or four workers that will attract dozens of visitors at the time.

The fastest growing segments of the tourism industry are agritourism, cultural tourism, heritage tourism, and ecotourism. People want to experience the simple life; they want to associate with nature; they want to learn about their past; they want to see how their food is grown; and they want to get away from it all. All of these things are exactly what we already have in Robeson County. But we are not making it available to tourists. They pass right through our county without realizing what is here.

There are literally hundreds of things that a farmer, landowner, homeowner, small businessman, or entrepreneur can do to give tourists a reason to spend a little more time in our county and, at the same time, spend a little more money while they are here -- farm vacations, rural or small town bed and breakfasts, guided nature and canoe trips, bird watching, farm tours, farm trails, corn mazes, wineries, crafts tours, rustic lodging by a pond or lake, camping on a working farm, hunting adventures, tournament fishing, and the list goes on. People willingly pay to experience these things and to give their children an opportunity to experience them.

There are many agencies, such as Cooperative Extension, now working to help farmers and others generate additional and alternative sources of income. There are grant funds available from many sources to help start some of the innovative businesses. There are conferences focusing on all types of interests, many located within easy driving distance from Robeson County. There is a lot of local support from Robeson Community College and UNC-Pembroke.

All that is needed now is ideas from you. I encourage you to start thinking about how you can encourage the travelers who pass through our county to spend some extra time here and to spend some extra money with you.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 6/26/08