This past Wednesday a joint conference of Visit El Paso (Convention and Visitor's Bureau), El Paso Heritage Alliance, Texas Senator Jose Rodriguez's office, the El Paso County Historical Commission and El Paso History Radio Show announced the upcoming Heritage Summit on Saturday, March 22. Bryan Crowe, the new head of the Visit El Paso (formerly CVB), Senator Rodriguez, Bernie Sargent and Jackson Polk each gave reasons why El Paso history is so rich and why heritage tourism will be a big economic boom for El Paso. Yet, the El Paso Times decided to run a poll decidedly biased against heritage tourism.
The Times asks whether "heritage tourism" could work in bringing more tourist dollars to El Paso. It suggests reading the story which says little about the historic treasures of our city as mentioned by the speakers nor about the reasons why heritage tourism will indeed be successful. (Do read Senator Rodriguez's remarks below wherein he enumerates our historic treasures.)
The Times offers three answers to choose from: "Yes, it's a great idea." "Maybe, but we would need more development at historic sites to make it happen." "No, I don't think there is much of a market for it."
The last answer should include in parentheses: "(And I have never thought El Paso has much to offer. We are a poor city any way and I haven't been outside of my neighborhood in years.)
Currently the responses (488 votes in all) are 19.46% yes; 36.27% maybe; 44.26% no.
I can just see the Jerry Rubin's of the city calling their friends and telling their workers to vote NO so they can continue their destruction of downtown historic treasures to build their parking lots and ticky-tacky buildings for national franchises. And, of course, all of these developers who hate history (and the natural outdoors also), never, ever advertise with the El Paso Times. Oh no, no.
The "maybe's" certainly should come to the Summit on March 22nd to learn about all of our historic sites or the fact that El Paso just by itself is historic in the words of documentary film producer, Jackson Polk.
Do four things:
Make plans now to come to the Summit and bring family and friends.
Visit the Times story online and vote.
See this short 18 minute video so you can see and hear what really happened at the press conference:
Read the text of the Senator's remarks (redacted):
The Heritage Tourism Summit coming up on March 22 promises to be a unique and important event for El Paso.
Heritage tourism is a sector that merits investment.
It is about developing a community-based enterprise that stimulates our regional economy, builds local pride, creates powerful educational experiences, preserves traditional crafts and skills, and creates jobs through spending by arts and culture organizations and their audiences.
Some figures to help illustrate that point include:
The Texas Historical Commission reported that, in 2011, over 200 million people traveled to experience heritage resources in Texas. They spent $6.3 billion in the process.
A study by the City of El Paso in 2007 provides the closest estimates we have regarding the impact of our local arts and culture industry. Although these figures don't relate exclusively to heritage tourism, they affirm our conviction that investments like this training summit aren't frivolous--they reap dividends.
Here's what the City found: a total economic impact of $91million, comprising: 2500 jobs, $5 million in transportation revenue, $6 million to our hotels, $25 million for our restaurants and bars, and over $4 million in local government revenue.
As you see, heritage tourism is serious business.
This Summit is the product of a commitment among stakeholders to convert competition to collaboration and capitalize on the creativity and business savvy of our heritage tourism stakeholders.
My office has directed resources to support the District 29 Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee since 2011, and I want to acknowledge the Committee for its consistent commitment to our mission.
Our monthly convenings enabled stakeholders from all over the County, including the sponsors of this important event, to advance our mission of: preserving and advocating for our collective heritage; and, building a heritage tourism sector.
I also want to congratulate the Visit El Paso (formerly the Convention & Visitors Bureau) for embracing the efforts of our committee members, specifically, the El Paso Heritage Alliance, Jackson Polk, and the El Paso County Historical Society.
When the El Paso Heritage Alliance first proposed the concept of collaborating on a groundbreaking training event, they incorporated the advice of their fellow Advisory Committee members. City Representative Lily Limon then brought our groups together with the Convention & Visitors Bureau, and their subsequent brainstorming resulted in the Heritage Tourism Summit.
We know that the Texas mystique is a powerful magnet that draws visitors from all over the world. Well, El Paso plays a huge role in that story. Through this collaboration, we have taken a giant leap forward on capitalizing on our rich heritage.
History lovers know that we have a profound cache of cultures and stories in our region:
- indigenous people,
- Hueco Tanks,
- the earliest trails in the Southwest,
- the place where North America begins,
- the Camino Real,
- our important Mission Valley communities,
- railroad history,
- hundreds of years of military history,
- renowned architecture,
- our heroic patriots,
- the Mexican Revolution,
- international migration and Segundo Barrio,
- the history and impact of our five international bridges, and
- the beginnings of the movimiento for social justice in our state.
Our citizens have recognized the merit of our cultural treasures and have made the investment, through bond projects like the Digital Wall, the Hispanic Cultural Center, Children's Museum, to strengthen the sites and cultural attractions that contribute to livability and build awareness for our residents and tourists about our great city.
Through mechanisms that combine the wisdom and values of our citizens with public agency skillsets and resources, I believe El Paso can emerge as a leader in citizen-driven initiatives that are inclusive, inspiring and which will continue to set us apart as a city of vision and entrepreneurship.
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