Thursday, February 6, 1997
Nature tourism holds promises for Texas Midwest
By ROY A. JONES II Senior Staff Writer
WINGATE - Quick, what's the Rio Grande Valley's biggest money-maker?
Citrus crops, right?
Wrong! Try birds.
Tourism associated with bird watching is a $100 million industry
along the Texas coast and brings in millions of dollars a year
more for the McAllen and Harlingen area than all the citrus crops
combined, according to Don Clark of the Texas Nature Tourism Association.
Clark was one of the speakers for a nature tourism workshop
sponsored by the Texas Midwest Community Network. A dozen people
attended session Wednesday at The Shed, and 30-40 more are expected
for a similar workshop to be today at the Aztec Theater in Albany,
beginning at 9:30 a.m. Cost is $20, which includes lunch.
Clark and other experts encouraged participants, including
landowners from as far away as Coleman and Brownwood, to consider
turning idle land into tourist dollars by offering such activities
as bird watching, nature trails, wild flower and botanical tours,
backpacking and hiking.
"Nature tourism is becoming more popular because it has
an educational element that you don't get with a trip to say,
Six Flags," said Clark, the retired director of travel information
for the Texas Department of Transportation.
For instance, "Kids today don't know where milk comes
from. They think it comes out of a carton." Farms and dairies
that offer opportunities for visitors to milk a cow or see other
farm work up close can capitalize on nature tourism, he said.
"Remember that what is ordinary and customary to you is
unique to your city cousins," Clark said.
He added that a German travel official told him he has 400
Germans who want to come to Texas, five or six at a time, and
pay $500 a week to work on a working cattle ranch - no doubt inspired
by the movie "City Slickers."
"They could haul hay, too," suggested Betty Cole
of near Blackwell.
"If it ever rains and we make any," crimed in Al
Jackson, who lives north of Shep.
Nicki Harle, executive director of the Texas Midwest Community
Network, said the Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau has started
compiling a data base of area tourism attractions. The bureau
"constantly" receives requests for information about
horseback riding facilities, she said.
Clark advised rural landowners, especially those with secluded
property, not to overlook the value of solitude and natural beauty.
"Approximately 85 percent of our 20 million Texans live
in metropolitan areas, and one of the main things they look for
is peace and quiet because they are so stressed. There's no better
place to relieve stress than to sit and watch quail walk by a
stream at sunset," he said.
"Like that," he added, pointing out a window. Right
on cue a covey of quail strutted across the restaurant's back
yard.
During a discussion about marketing to nature photographers,
Wingate native Joe Pritchard quipped, "They could have paid
for Lake Ivie with the people wanting to photograph the Concho
water snake. They would have been lined up clear to Dallas."
That's not too farfetched, Clark said, noting how hundreds
of people fly to the Rio Grande Valley each year just to see a
particular bird that nests there.
"I've seen them fly in from New Jersey, rent a car and
go see the bird, then catch another plane back to New Jersey the
same day," he said. "You're on a prime migration route
out here that you should take economic advantage of."
Vic Mathias, director of the Texas Travel Industry Association,
gave participants ideas about how to start nature tourism businesses.
After 27 years as executive director of the Austin Chamber of
Commerce he became involved with a corporation operating Longhorn
Caverns, he said.
One of the ideas to keep people occupied while waiting for
cavern tours involved labeling the area's flora and fauna and
giving visitors simple information sheets for self-guided tours.
Before long the wildlife tours became nearly as popular as the
caverns, he said.
Everyone is aware of the economic impact of hunting but, Mathias
asked, how many people have thought of offering visitors the opportunity
to sit in a deer blind and simply watch deer and other animals
feeding?
For those worried about losing the family ranch if a visitor
sued over an accident, Phil Barnes, former Texas insurance commissioner,
said liability insurance is available for as little as $370 a
year.
Clark said he was not aware of a single insurance claim as
result of a nature tourism accident and added, "I personally
think the premiums are going to come down."
LaNita Richmond, director of the Brownwood Area Chamber of
Commerce, said she got several good ideas from the workshop to
share with Brown County land owners.
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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