MISSOURI TAKES STEPS TOWARD ATTRACTING CULTURAL TOURISTS

A partnership between the Missouri Arts Council and the state Division of Tourism has resulted in a plan to promote cultural tourism in the state.

The plan recommends a feasibility study for a proposed Ozark Center that would present Ozark artisans and traditional Ozark culture.

The blueprint also calls for providing technical assistance for the development of cultural tourism products, and for funding "bricks and mortar" projects that help establish Missouri as a cultural tourism destination.

Consultants Bill Moski and Sandy Guettler conducted surveys and interviews and toured the state in developing the cultural tourism initiatives.

They identified three primary cultural tourism themes: river heritage, ideas that shape our democracy and music.

Other themes are artists and artisans, Civil War, ethnic settlements, and neighborhoods, jazz heritage, Missouri sons and daughters, Ozark heritage, Route 66, Thomas Hart Benton, and the underground railway.

Cultural tourists spend $615 a trip compared to $425 per the average traveler in the United States, according to research by the Travel Industry Association of America.

Christiana Heithaus, arts council spokeswoman, said the state also is interested in marketing itself as a destination for international cultural tourists. As the Louvre draws people to Paris, cultural resources like the world-class St. Louis Symphony, the steamboat heritage and jazz can lure people to Missouri, she said.

Up to now, Missouri's recreational resources have been spotlighted for tourists. "There's more to Missouri than just the outdoors," Heithaus said. "We have amazing ballet here, incredible music all over the state, chautauquas and a lot going on with the Civil War. People can come to Missouri for that, too."

Terri Clark-Bauer, new executive director of the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the city does promote some of its historic sites.

"I do see opportunities to do more but I think the CVB has done a good job to this point," Clark-Bauer said.

Often people who come to town for a convention or trade show are looking for something else to do while here, she said.

Clark-Bauer welcomes the new plan. "It's like when you have a department store," she said. "When you limit yourself to one product you limit the opportunities to make a sale."

"In the tourism market, the more inventory you have and more diverse it is, the more opportunities to bring people into the community," she said.

Forums to discuss the cultural tourism plan will be held at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Vaughn Cultural Center in St. Louis and at 3 p.m. Sept. 3 at the Poplar Bluff Chamber of Commerce.

Also in the works is a travel planner, "Missouri Passages: A Journey of Discovery," to be inserted in Travel and Leisure magazine and USA Today in the fall. The guide also will be direct-mailed to American Express Card members.

Having a cultural tourism plan is a progressive move for the state, Heithaus said. "It keeps up with the growing trend among travelers who are looking for reasons to visit beyond the usual tourist fare."