Is wildlife tourism viable economic development for rural areas? My instinct tells me yes, but I keep craving some real data to work with.
My little area of Oklahoma has just opened a huge project after five years of serious preparatory work (read the Enid News and Eagle story or visit the Great Plains Trail of Oklahoma site). I think it will work well, but I keep wondering. The organizers said “it worked in Texas,” but what factors were key to that success? Have we made sure to use the best and adapt to our particular situation, or did we just listen to the well-meaning but frequently dangerous consultants?
What would help would be a some kind of tools or metrics, so rural areas could decide what and which wildlife tourism projects to invest in. Even a list of mistakes made and lessons learned could be extremely helpful. So, if you have the chance, be sure to share the lessons learned from all your projects. We have to help each other to survive!
small biz rural entrepreneurship wildlife tourism economic development Oklahoma
- How small town businesses can market to remote workers and turn them into new customers - May 15, 2023
- Survey of Rural Challenges 2023 results - May 8, 2023
- Rural and small town ideas from the OU Placemaking Conference IQC 2023 - April 5, 2023
- Rural tourism trends say small towns are still cool - March 27, 2023
- Move Your Money and Bank Local - March 22, 2023
- Using a building as a warehouse or storage in a small town? Put up a sign - March 13, 2023
- How to get customers in the door of small town and rural retail stores - February 19, 2023
- Check your small business website for outdated pandemic changes, missing info - January 31, 2023
- Rural Tourism Trend: electric vehicle chargers can drive visitors - January 15, 2023
- 2023 trends for rural and small town businesses - December 26, 2022