Rick Mullins still remembers how much his cousins from Indiana and Florida
enjoyed riding horses, pitching horseshoes, and floating down the river
whenever they visited his family on their farm in the mountains of southwestern
Virginia. Even as a youngster, Mullins thought that kind of back-to-nature
experience could be turned into a good business opportunity. When, as
an adult, he read forecasts in the Kiplinger Letter about the rising
popularity of bed and breakfast inns and a new trend called ecotourism,
he knew he was onto something. So it's not surprising that Mullins now
operates a bed and breakfast inn and a 30-horse stable—which includes
the world grand champion horse "the Virginia Undertaker"—on
his family-owned farm in Clintwood, Virginia.
Mullins is a member of a community of business owners working together
with the Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority, based in Big Stone Gap,
Virginia, to develop ecotourism and agritourism in southwestern Virginia.
The authority covers seven counties—Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell,
Scott, Tazewell, and Wise—as well as the city of Norton.
Ecotourism, as defined by the International Ecotourism Society, is "responsible
travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the
well-being of the local people," and it's proving to be good business
in an area where lush mountain landscapes dominate and wildlife thrives.
Ecotourism is the fastest-growing segment of the global tourism industry;
and tourism is the fastest-growing industry in southwestern Virginia,
with an average annual growth rate of 17 percent.
Phyllis Deel, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent who has served on
the tourism authority board since its inception in 1994, was one of the
early visionaries who saw opportunities in the region's mountains and
rivers that could compensate for the decline in the coal, tobacco, and
textile industries.
"We have helped build an infrastructure that entrepreneurs can use
to develop their own jobs and generate income by capitalizing on sustainable,
value-added, community-based tourism," she says. "We worked
on marketing opportunities, especially cooperative marketing for attractions
that package well together, and new amenities that encourage people to
stay longer. That helps us capture more of the tourism dollar and bring
in new money from outside."
First-Class Credentials for Ecotourism
The Heart of Appalachia region of Virginia comes with first-class credentials
for ecotourism. A large portion of it has been designated as a bioreserve through
the Nature Conservancy's Clinch Valley Program, and this area is one of only
40 places worldwide to be named part of the organization's "Last Great
Places" ecosystem protection initiative. The Heart of Appalachia's natural
havens include thousands of acres of the Jefferson National Forest, the 4,500-acre
Breaks Interstate Park (which includes the "Grand Canyon of the South"),
and the 850-acre Natural Tunnel State Park, among others. The Appalachian Trail,
the Trans-America Bike Route, and the new Heart of Appalachia Bike Route and
Scenic Drive weave their way through the region.
With attractions and trails already in place, a new initiative called Project
Green Back, an Appalachian Regional Commission–funded program, is focusing
on "connecting the dots" by helping entrepreneurs create amenities
and services such as campgrounds, outfitters, guide services, lodging, shopping,
and dining. Geneva O'Quinn has been working with the tourism authority since
1999 and now leads the program as executive director.
"The potential outdoor activities of the coal counties are unparalleled
in the state," she says, "but we needed training for local entrepreneurs
to build new businesses to support the attractions that we already have. We
also needed to help people of the region think about economic development in
a new way."
She and her partners developed a series of workshops that provided people like
Rick Mullins, who already have their land and a healthy entrepreneurial spirit,
with business training, marketing support, and networking opportunities. The
first in the series, the "Nature Tourism Business Opportunities Workshop,"
attracted almost 100 attendees. Participation has also been strong in the other
workshops, which include "How to Profit from Horses and Tourism,"
"B&B/Campground Study Tour," "Virginia/Kentucky Guest Lodging
Conference," and "Heart of Appalachia Guide Training Course."
Appalachian Mountain Cabins in Clinchport took off after Roy and Phyllis Baker
attended their first workshop. "We bought this land from my aunt and kept
it for a couple of years without knowing exactly what we wanted to do with it,"
Phyllis Baker says. "Then we heard about the ecotourism. We went to the
workshop, and it just started growing."
The Bakers have just completed their second cabin, and a third is planned.
They are working closely with Natural Tunnel State Park, where the staff, eager
to have additional housing nearby, have assured the Bakers that they will be
booked on a regular basis since the demand for housing outweighs supply.
Gail and Rick Marney also contacted the tourism authority before they started
their business, Mountain Empire Adventures, a guided-tour business that lets
tourists use all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to explore the Marneys' 300-acre woodland.
At first, any mention of ATVs in conjunction with ecotourism raised a few eyebrows,
especially from the Nature Conservancy, which in partnership with People Incorporated
of Southwest Virginia and the tourism authority has provided a $100,000 revolving
loan fund to help with the development of such ecotourism enterprises. But training
sessions and helmets, as well as guides who make sure travel is slow and respectful,
keep both the riders and trails safe. The ATVs also offer new access to people
who physically cannot hike into the pristine property, where birds and other
wildlife thrive.
To attract the visitors who will keep these businesses viable, O'Quinn has
overseen an advertising blitz that has the potential to reach eight million
people and has already brought 50,000 requests for information from readers
of Parade Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Budget Traveler,
Blue Ridge County, and American History, among other publications.
The tourism authority is also gearing up for this fall's filming of Adriana
Trigiani's Big Stone Gap—a major motion picture drawn on Trigiani's
experiences growing up in the area in the 1970s—and preparing for the moviegoers
who traditionally flock to areas featured in films.
Maximizing Resources
Maximizing natural resources also means mixing and matching talents. Bush Mill
(built circa 1890), for example, a picturesque gristmill on Amos Branch near
Nickelsville, will begin operation again in late summer as a cooperative effort
between the Nickelsville Ruritan Club, local students, and a number of community
organizations. Paul Kuczko, director of the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth, explains
how this latest project of Virginia Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning
works.
"It's different from Junior Achievement—the kids own the business.
They are job creators," he says. "This gives our low-income kids a
real shot at a business. And with only three millers left in the [Ruritan] club,
it won't hurt to train some young folks on how to operate the mill." The
students will create business and marketing plans for the mill business and
oversee its daily operations.
Over in the town of Wise, the owners of the Inn at Wise, which is slated to
open in stages beginning early next spring, and the artisans in Purely Appalachia
Craft Empowerment (PACE) are also pairing up. Traditional handicrafts that are
commissioned to decorate the inn (and are sold there) and assistance from the
tourism authority have helped get this major restoration under way.
"[The authority] has provided us with a great deal of information we needed
to complete a feasibility study for this project and develop our business plan,"
says Michele Valkenaar, managing partner of the inn. "Its Web site is a
valuable resource, and we look forward to working [together] on a host of tourism-promoting
activities as we develop our business."
PACE is just one of the historic and cultural programs that complement the
natural resources of the region. The Carter Family Memorial Music Center in
Hiltons and the Dr. Ralph Stanley Memorial Bluegrass Festival in Smith Ridge
attract thousands of music lovers annually. And The Trail of the Lonesome
Pine, Virginia's official state outdoor drama and the longest-running outdoor
drama in the state, has for 38 years been telling the story of the coal boom
and how it changed a time-honored way of life.
The momentum continues to build with new outdoor attractions such as the Virginia
Birding and Wildlife Trail spearheaded by the Virginia Department of Game and
Inland Fisheries. O'Quinn sees this trail as an excellent opportunity to expand
ecotourism in the region.
"Local entrepreneurs can benefit by nominating sites on this trail and
incorporating their business into the trail's infrastructure," she explains.
"This trail can become a major marketing platform for the region."
Sue Carr, owner of Sandy Head Ostrich Farm in Tazewell County, has been involved
in organizational meetings for the trail and is submitting site recommendations.
She first heard of the tourism authority through a fellow farm owner and friend—Sandra
Bennett at Thistle Cove Farm—and has attended several workshops and meetings.
"Geneva and her staff came out and looked the place over and gave me suggestions.
They helped me with everything from time management to how to make the farm
more interesting to tourists." Carr is currently developing a "U-pick"
feature by growing produce in raised beds accessible to seniors and people who
use wheelchairs, and plans to offer tours of her farm, where she raises ostriches,
emus, and Easter-egg chickens (which lay colored eggs), among others birds.
O'Quinn has a bird-dog sense about the potential that lies in these thickly
wooded mountains. She sees campgrounds attractively nestled near the Clinch
River, she hears trained guides sharing legend and lore along new trails, and
she can almost taste the fare at new cafes and restaurants that will keep guests
returning. Her enthusiasm comes naturally, she says, given all she has to work
with.
"Our goal with this program has been to combine the beauty of our natural
resources with the spirit of our human resources to provide new business opportunities
in ecotourism that will promote economic development in our region," she
adds. "It's easy to accomplish this when you have such an abundance of
both."
Lynda McDaniel is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Virginia. |