More than half the states in the country have
dedicated cultural heritage tourism programs
at the state level. Most are housed in state
tourism offices, but some states have found
innovative ways to spearhead cultural heritage
tourism efforts from less traditional agencies.
State arts councils and historic preservation
offices are somewhat typical. But a humanities
slant in Arizona has given that state its own
breed of cultural heritage tourism to promote.
Arizona. The name evokes images of sun-drenched golf courses,
desert retreats, and the Grand Canyon. Not for lack of trying,
the state of Arizona has become, over the last century, an oasis
of warm relaxation and recreation. And a few large cities, resorts,
and
natural wonders have profited greatly from this tourism ideal.
But Arizona is a large state with several distinct regions and
a wide range of vegetative, geographical, and climactic offerings.
What’s more, Arizona contains hundreds of treasures unique
to its cultural heritage and evolution into a modern state. From
the Wild West of renown to the Spanish heritage introduced by
explorers such as Coronado, from the ancient indigenous peoples
whose lives define the past and intersect with the present to
the 20th-century automotive legacy of Route 66, Arizona is replete
with cultural
and historic attractions.
It is the job of the Arizona Humanities Council (AHC) to preserve,
maintain, and interpret all aspects of this rich culture and
heritage. As an affiliate of the National Endowment for the
Humanities
(NEH), AHC has supported cultural heritage product
development for more than 25 years, funding or directing literally
thousands of activities.
The organization’s goal in the mid-1990s was to help Arizona’s
cultural heritage sites become stronger tourist attractions while
maintaining their authenticity and simultaneously becoming fiscally
sound. In many states, cultural heritage tourism programs come
out of the state tourism office. But, as Dan Shilling, AHC executive
director, points out, “Tourism agencies are often just
marketing programs. They advertise the state but they don’t
actually build or enhance the products they market—just
as they market the Grand Canyon, but depend on the National Park
Service and other agencies to actually maintain and enhance the
product.” AHC, he
continues, “...is in the product development game, so the
Arizona Office of Tourism supports our efforts because we will
give them
a better product to market.”
“We’re a tremendous cultural heritage market with
all our assets,” continues Shilling. “But many of
our heritage-based sites are small and struggling. They recognize
that they have unique attractions to offer visitors, but they
don’t know how to develop them into viable tourism products,
nor do they have the funds.”
In a conservative state like Arizona, arguments to preserve
and promote culture and arts are not as effective as ones that
address
economic recovery. AHC needed to find a vehicle to make a stronger
case to the legislature. Cultural heritage tourism is one that
has potential because it talks about economic development, not
just culture.
Having stumbled on an old cultural tourism study from the late
1970s, Shilling realized that if the state’s economic development
entities and legislature were aware of the huge economic potential
just waiting to be tapped, they would be more likely to get
behind the idea of funding and promoting cultural heritage tourism
sites and activities. It was time to gather the facts and take
them to the people.
“The truth is, we can provide
all of the directions,
marketing, and advice we want and some nice
efforts will get started, but until we get some
increased funding, we really won’t begin to take
advantage of this form of tourism.” — Dan Shilling, executive director, Arizona
Humanities Council
What Happened Next
A 1997 study funded by AHC, the Arizona Community Foundation,
Arizona Office of Tourism, and the Museum Association of Arizona
(MAA), produced impressive facts and statistics regarding the
condition of cultural heritage tourism in the country at large
and the vast potential
for an improved economy
through cultural heritage
tourism that awaited Arizona.
AHC took the findings and
produced a 16-page booklet
that outlined how Arizona is
poised for success in the
cultural heritage arena, the
changes such an initiative could
produce, and the need to develop products to help cultural institutions
improve their products and market themselves more effectively.
The booklet, distributed widely throughout the state to cultural,
heritage, tourism, and government entities concerned with Arizona’s
economy and quality of life, had the positive effect of convincing
some major players to join hands over the cultural heritage tourism
table.
Through that study, AHC identified the three key communities
that had to be involved in order to advance effective cultural
heritage tourism programs: the museum and cultural sites themselves,
tourists, and economic development organizations. From there,
AHC set out to find appropriate partners to help develop methods
and products for each segment.
Working jointly with MAA, using an Institute of Museum and Library
Services grant, AHC researched and produced the 48-page workbook,
Cultural Heritage Tourism. This guide helps historical and heritage
institutions develop cultural-based tourism attractions by addressing
topics such as deciding when your community is ready for tourism,
knowing if your institution is ready, developing partnerships,
developing products to tell your story, marketing and advertising,
and where to turn for further assistance.
The preface to the 2000 workbook states “While there exists
considerable research supporting the economic and quality of
life benefits of cultural heritage tourism... little information
is available about how to actually do it…This workbook
addresses that void, by identifying issues to consider and offering
step-by-step examples, many of them drawn from case studies.”
To reach out to tourists, AHC revised its website, Arizona History
Traveler, dramatically improving the online resource to help
potential travelers plan a visit to suit their every desire.
Natural and
cultural attractions
are highlighted by clearly defined geographical regions at www.azhistorytraveler.org.
AHC addresses the business end of cultural heritage tourism
with its recently produced CD-ROM, Cultural Heritage Tourism:
Economic Development and Quality of Life. Narrated by historian
Marshall Trimble, the PowerPoint presentation describes how communities
can bolster their local economies and nourish their quality of
life through effective cultural heritage tourism. Including demonstrations
of how cultural heritage sites and businesses can work together
to develop jointly beneficial
initiatives, the CD-ROM is distributed to chambers of commerce,
offices of tourism, convention and visitors bureaus, and other
economic development agencies throughout the state. “We’re
using this tool to say to these groups, ‘If you’re
in tourism and not considering cultural heritage, you could be
overlooking something significant in your community,’” says
Shilling.
An adjunct to the CD-ROM is a brochure designed by MAA that
outlines the economic impact that museums bring to a region.
Also from MAA is a 30-second
television public service announcement that makes the same case.
MAA and AHC encourage the use of these materials by museums and
other cultural heritage sites to help them build awareness of
their potential economic contributions to the community.
Results
AHC-spearheaded efforts have fostered strong collaborations
between the tourism and cultural heritage industries in communities
throughout the state. Small towns like Payson, Snowflake, Bisbee,
and Winslow have taken this concept to heart and are attempting
to build their tourism programs around history and heritage.
But the key to progress in building a sustainable
cultural heritage tourism industry in Arizona is getting more
money from the legislature. “We need serious product-development
funding to enable these woefully underfunded institutions to
even play in the tourism game,” declares Shilling. “That
will be the real test—after we’ve done the research,
provided the workbooks, done the presentations—to get the
funding to build product and encourage partnerships.”
AHC’s chances of fulfilling this mission get stronger
every day as new statewide and local alliances are built. The
Arizona Tourism Alliance, a lobbying association, has testified
on AHC’s behalf to the state, and the Arizona State Library,
Archives, and Public Records is the conduit for AHC’s bill
for funding to the legislature in 2001. With the right kind of
support, Shilling says, “We envision being able to award
grants in the $50,000 - $75,000 range, which is what museums
really need
if they are going to have a fighting chance.” As a result
of the research
and the partnerships that were created, AHC collaborated with
the Arizona Community Foundation, Arizona Commission on the Arts,
and Arizona Department of Commerce to
create an “Arts and Culture Build Communities” fund
in 2001. The project awarded nearly $200,000, mostly in rural
areas to support
cultural tourism.
Arizona. The name evokes images of sun-drenched golf courses,
desert retreats, and the Grand Canyon. Not for lack of trying,
the state of Arizona has become, over the last century, an oasis
of warm relaxation and recreation. And a few large cities, resorts,
and
natural wonders have profited greatly from this tourism ideal. 
The organization’s goal in the mid-1990s was to help Arizona’s
cultural heritage sites become stronger tourist attractions while
maintaining their authenticity and simultaneously becoming fiscally
sound. In many states, cultural heritage tourism programs come
out of the state tourism office. But, as Dan Shilling, AHC executive
director, points out, “Tourism agencies are often just
marketing programs. They advertise the state but they don’t
actually build or enhance the products they market—just
as they market the Grand Canyon, but depend on the National Park
Service and other agencies to actually maintain and enhance the
product.” AHC, he
continues, “...is in the product development game, so the
Arizona Office of Tourism supports our efforts because we will
give them
a better product to market.” 
A 1997 study funded by AHC, the Arizona Community Foundation,
Arizona Office of Tourism, and the Museum Association of Arizona
(MAA), produced impressive facts and statistics regarding the
condition of cultural heritage tourism in the country at large
and the vast potential
for an improved economy
through cultural heritage
tourism that awaited Arizona.
AHC took the findings and
produced a 16-page booklet
that outlined how Arizona is
poised for success in the
cultural heritage arena, the
changes such an initiative could
produce, and the need to develop products to help cultural institutions
improve their products and market themselves more effectively.
The booklet, distributed widely throughout the state to cultural,
heritage, tourism, and government entities concerned with Arizona’s
economy and quality of life, had the positive effect of convincing
some major players to join hands over the cultural heritage tourism
table.
Working jointly with MAA, using an Institute of Museum and Library
Services grant, AHC researched and produced the 48-page workbook,
Cultural Heritage Tourism. This guide helps historical and heritage
institutions develop cultural-based tourism attractions by addressing
topics such as deciding when your community is ready for tourism,
knowing if your institution is ready, developing partnerships,
developing products to tell your story, marketing and advertising,
and where to turn for further assistance. 
To reach out to tourists, AHC revised its website, Arizona History
Traveler, dramatically improving the online resource to help
potential travelers plan a visit to suit their every desire.
Natural and
cultural attractions
are highlighted by clearly defined geographical regions at 
AHC-spearheaded efforts have fostered strong collaborations
between the tourism and cultural heritage industries in communities
throughout the state. Small towns like Payson, Snowflake, Bisbee,
and Winslow have taken this concept to heart and are attempting
to build their tourism programs around history and heritage.
But the key to progress in building a sustainable
cultural heritage tourism industry in Arizona is getting more
money from the legislature. “We need serious product-development
funding to enable these woefully underfunded institutions to
even play in the tourism game,” declares Shilling. “That
will be the real test—after we’ve done the research,
provided the workbooks, done the presentations—to get the
funding to build product and encourage partnerships.” 
