From ecotourism adventures to Kentucky Proud labels, LCVB President Jim Browder sees opportunity to market expanding tourism niches to Lexington visitors
CVB
Bourbon, horses and basketball — the Bluegrass in a nutshell, right? Wrong. While these aspects of Lexington’s tourism, as well as their unique combination, certainly define our area in the eyes of outsiders, there’s a lot more to our area tourism-wise, with more assets actively evolving — assets that include ecotourism, conventions, historical landmarks and a thriving locavore culture.
“Tourism-wise, the horse industry is extremely unique. You could probably take just a handful of cities throughout the United States where the equine business is prominent, and when you combine that with the heritage of bourbon, that makes a very unique situation. Add to that what is starting to grow quickly is the culinary side of Lexington,” president of the Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau (LCVB) Jim Browder said.
Browder, who accepted his position at the LCVB last year, works to portray Lexington as a destination for travelers who come to Kentucky. According to numbers recently released by the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, tourism in the commonwealth earned Kentucky approximately $11.3 billion dollars in 2010, which is 7 percent of the state’s gross state product. This number increased in 2011 to $11.7 billion, with $2.6 billion being spent in the Bluegrass region.
And Browder sees a bright future for Lexington tourism with a lot of growth.
“Right now we see about 10,000 people a year in our [former] visitor’s center. We think as time progresses, we will see up to 40,000 people,” he said.
Undeniably, the natural surroundings of the area add a great amount of charm to the Bluegrass. According to the LCVB, 37.3 percent of visitors to our area come for the scenic beauty.
Browder, who has worked for resort hotels in Florida that attract myriad tourists, attributes a great amount of charm to Lexington’s landscape.
Both fabricated destinations like Walt Disney World and natural destinations are appealing, “but natural trumps,” he said.
From locavorism to ecotourism
The landscape surrounding Lexington is more than just a pretty picture. The agricultural production around the area contributes to the up-and-coming trend of “locavorism,” or the movement to produce, prepare and consume food in one’s own geographical area — a movement that is apparent in Lexington with the popularity of the Lexington Farmers Market and businesses such as Alfalfa Restaurant, Windy Corner Market and Restaurant and Azur Restaurant and Patio. In 2003, the Kentucky Proud marketing program was established and has had an effect on the hospitality industry.
“Kentucky has a leg up because it’s one of the few states that have actually branded it, so that makes it a lot easier for us to help promote the nature of the culinary business,” Browder said.
Linked to the agricultural industry is the presence of the equine industry. Julia Poynter, associate professor of business administration at Transylvania University, was the college’s liaison for the World Equestrian Games and credits the event with providing Lexington “greater exposure as far as the competitive equine world goes” in the form of revenue, a reported $201.5 million in 2010, and the booking of additional horse shows.
However, with the future of the Thoroughbred industry up in the air due to the tax incentives offered by other states that are trying to start up horse racing and breeding operations of their own, the equine industry’s longevity in Kentucky has recently been questioned. However, many feel that horses and Kentucky will always go hand in hand, including visitors to the area, 37.1 percent of whom report that they come for horse-related activities.
“One of the reasons the Thoroughbred industry was attracted to Kentucky is the same reason why the distillery industry was attracted to central Kentucky — horses do better on ground that has high mineral content,” Poynter said.
Bourbon, like horses, is another high-profile industry in our area, partially in thanks to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which consists of six distilleries in central Kentucky. The Kentucky Distillery Association notes that the state possesses 4.7 million barrels of bourbon, while the population is slightly more than 4.3 million.
Ecotourism, or adventure tourism, is another trend that has been spotted on the radar around the country. Recently there has been interest in developing the land around Boone Creek into a recreational area with kayaking, hiking, mountain climbing and canopy tours, to be offered via ziplines. However, in March the Fayette County Board of Adjustment voted against development at this time.
“It would be very nice to be able to provide that in Fayette County and not have to send people elsewhere,” Browder said.
Downtown attraction
While adventure tourism attractions are found in more rural areas such as Red River Gorge, Lexington’s downtown has grown exponentially in the past several years.
“Downtown Lexington has started to attract more restaurants, more development. When you can have a place for people to congregate and do things, to try different things [like] the programs with downtown Lexington as far as Thursday Night Live, that really becomes something to where people say, ‘Hey, wait a minute,’” Poynter said.
“They’ve got a really good plan here … from what I understand, even from what I saw five years ago, this place has had some tremendous growth over five years, even during a recession. It relates to quality of life, so I think we’re going to see a whole lot more in the next five years,” Browder said.
While restaurants, bars, and special events are popping up increasingly often on the downtown scene, one aspect of hospitality is seeing a slower rate of development — retail. Shopping hasn’t proven to be as sustainable downtown, as exemplified by the Victorian Square complex, which went up for sale this past January.
“Developing that [retail] as an attraction for conventions and tourism, as a support link, will draw people from local life to downtown and to generate more residents downtown,” Joe Fields, director of convention management for the Lexington Convention Center, said.
Browder agreed, saying that retail is a big component of both tourism and the permanent community. Additionally, the LCVB opened a new visitor’s center on the first floor of the Victorian Square plaza on May 14. This will serve as a temporary hub for the center until its new permanent location on West Main Street (formerly De Vassa Bar and Café) opens later this year.
However Browder isn’t waiting to depend on any new attractions to come to the area, as he credits Lexington’s charm to its identity as a great place to live and work, as well as to visit.
“When the community can live with the tourists and there’s a nice balance there, that’s usually the greatest appeal. I’ve always said in the past, whatever you do, take the community in mind first, because if the community likes it, then the tourists will like it. If the tourists like it, the conventions like it.”
And conventions are a huge part of Lexington’s draw for visitors. “What we want to attract is convention center [filling], multi-hotel, high-economic-impact con-ventions,” Fields said.
According to Fields, most of the conventions that we draw are state association conventions, religious association conventions and tradeshows. While Lexington isn’t a “top-tier” convention town like Chicago, it does have many assets that are appealing to convention planners, including its drivability (84.2 percent of visitors to the Lexington area drive here, according to the LCVB) and low cost. Also, many conventions are brought to Lexington through local members of statewide and national groups who communicate their interest to their respective associations in bringing a convention to Lexington.
“People are proud of their hometown; they want to show it off,” Fields said.
Additionally, Fields believes that the intended manufacturing development in the area between Lexington and Louisville, including the cities themselves, “potentially could drive a little more corporate business our way.”
Downtown development has been a hot topic recently, beginning with the CentrePointe development several years ago and continuing with the announcement of a 21C Hotel planned for Lexington, as well as the discussion concerning the future of Rupp Arena and the attached Lexington Convention Center. While no plans have been finalized, several possibilities are up for discussion. Browder said that the plans are in the “vision stage.”
“We’re just awaiting direction from the task force, and until we get it, we’re going to just continue managing the building in a first-class way and making an impact on the local economy,” Fields said about the proposed changes for Rupp and the convention center.
A recent study by the LCVB concluded that the exhibit space in the Lexington Convention Center should be increased from 66,000 square feet to 100,000-to-125,000 square feet.
“You can go after 60 percent of the business out there; add that 30,000 square feet and that number goes up to 95 percent,” Fields said.
Fields also added that with an increase in overall space, a larger ballroom for large events would be ideal.
The immediate area surrounding the convention center, along with other areas including Jefferson Street, have witnessed a lot of development recently.
“I’m very excited about what we can offer. We are blessed to have so many things going on,” Poynter said. “Because you start having those things downtown, you can start drawing not only the outside tourists, but also someone in the area who will stick around and do things.”
The greater Bluegrass
Poynter believes that the counties surrounding Fayette all hold something attractive that makes the Bluegrass unique. “I would encourage people to be a tourist in their own backyard … We have wonderful people come through and love the fact that this is where we live.”
However, Poynter believes that development must be balanced with the natural culture of Kentucky.
“When we have development that is not controlled, we end up waking up one day and realizing we’re just like everyone else, and then there’s no incentive to come. And so the equine world, rolling green fields, those drystone fences, are very much a part of our personality, along with the bourbon and the basketball. ... When you lose some of that, we’re in trouble.”
But perhaps the most telling aspect of Lexington’s culture, which attracts tourism from around the country, isn’t listed in any travel brochure — something Browder has noticed during his year living and working here.
“What changed, if anything, is a greater appreciation for how friendly people are here,” Browder said. “You think because you’re a visitor, they’re friendly, but when you start becoming a local, they’re just as friendly.”