Hospitality Training – In tough economic times, good customer service is more important than ever to attract customers that are more selective in their spending. Learn about an approach to customer service training that is engaging to audiences and leaves trainees feeling excited and empowered.

Market Analysis & Financial Planning Tools for Tourism Businesses – With uncertainty about future travel, businesses must develop marketing and financial plans based on solid information. This requires understanding the customers and where they are from. It also requires developing “what-if” financial scenarios to prepare for uncertain sales. Free on-line resources will be demonstrated to help tourism businesses make informed decisions during these tough economic times.

Year-Round Marketing for Communities – Successful marketing is a proactive activity that relies on knowing who your customers are, where they come from, at what point they make a decision to come to your store or buy your product, and their overall economic profile. Learn what a community can do to analyze its markets and adjust its strategies to transform a seasonal community into a year-round destination.

SBDC Resources – The SBDC provides local business people with practical and tactical entrepreneurial training programs and expert business counseling services (free of charge) that can be used to develop strategies and financial plans. In addition, they offer search engine optimization training providing tourism-related businesses with a toolkit to drive qualified traffic to their Web sites.

Tourism Development: Better Results From Regionalization - Tourists typically are attracted to an area or region rather than a specific location. Unfortunately, many tourist bureaus or local chambers of commerce promote specific municipalities which are defined arbitrarily and have little meaning to tourists. This session will discuss the economic benefits of a regional approach to attracting tourists and will outline a "how to" approach to regional tourism.

Festival and Event Training – Many communities and organizations put on events to attract tourists and to raise revenues. In this 3-day training, participants learn how to plan an event, make a budget, secure sponsorship, coordinate volunteers, address risk, secure necessary permits and licenses, market the event and conduct evaluations. By becoming better event coordinators, tourist-related organizations can effectively market and promote their communities and ensure that their visitors will have an enjoyable and positive experience.

Cycle Southwest Wisconsin  - This three county (Grant, Iowa and Lafayette) project is intended to boost shoulder season tourism in southwest Wisconsin during April - October. Bicycling vacations are growing in popularity across the country, making this an ideal time for regional partnerships designed to capture more of this market segment.  As many tourist-dependant businesses struggle in the current economic downturn, it is important to find ways to increase tourist traffic, especially during slower times of the year.

Local Economic Impacts of Tourist Attractions - Communities must justify capital and other investments in tourist attractions, especially during lean budget years. Learn about research that can quantify tourism expenditures in your local community, and improve your understanding about who your visitors are and where they come from through a case study of the City of Algoma Marina.

Assessing Your Potential For Success – When resources are slim, tourism organizations and businesses need to focus on efforts that have the greatest potential for success. In this session, participants will learn how to collect good information and apply it to tourism planning.  Examples discussed will include a countywide organizational tourism assessment and a multi-county effort to determine the potential for agri-tourism, including surveys of farm producers, restaurants and festivals. Participants will leave with links to free template survey tools.

First Impressions - All communities have difficulties viewing themselves as others (including visitors) see them. Our views are skewed by over familiarization, lack of differing perspectives and expectations, and a reluctance to be completely honest with our neighbors when dealing with difficult issues (i.e. the appearance of buildings, customer service and public facilities). During tough economic times, it is important that we objectively assess community development opportunities and develop strategies for community improvement. This roundtable will discuss a program that engages volunteers in exchange visits with peer communities as a basis for creating an objective community assessment.

Community Tourism Marketing Strategy Development – UW-Extension’s network of county-based educators provides Wisconsin’s communities with access to valuable planning skills helpful in navigating through a down economy. These skills can unlock creative and entrepreneurial ideas that are have direct impact on the health of the local tourism industry. Learn how communities can work with UW-Extension to develop marketing strategies for tough economic times.

© 2001-2006 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, doing business as the Division of Cooperative Extension of University of Wisconsin-Extension. For more information, questions and comments, please contact the web manager at: cced@uwex.edu

If you have trouble accessing this page, require this information in an alternative format or wish to request a reasonable accommodation because of a disability contact: cced@uwex.edu. University of Wisconsin-Extension - Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension