Reaching beyond the town

This past week there’s been a lot of talk about marketing Thermopolis on more than just the local level, hitting the international market and partnering with other communities in the Bighorn Basin.

Though these are viable options and could be the economic boon we’re looking for, they should be pursued with a sense of caution and the understanding that they won’t be financially lucrative right away, perhaps not even within the first year.

During the monthly meeting of Hot Springs Travel and Tourism, Mathias Jung with Rocky Mountain International visited with the board about how to better market our town to various travel agencies, who would then market it to the international scene.

The Western experience that we take for granted in Wyoming is what people from other countries often seek; the “exotic” feel of the Old West is still alive and well here, and a stark contrast from the crowded city life. But we can’t expect the overseas tourist flood gates to just open and the tourists to come a-runnin’. This is new territory we’re diving into, and just like with any new product there’s going to be a bit of skepticism and caution on the part of the consumer before we’ve got a strong reputation.

At a more local level, during a recent Wyoming Association of Municipalities there was heavy discussion about economic directors and chamber directors from communities in the basin promoting events in their towns as well as others.

The idea would be if people are in a community for one event, they could be told about other events happening in the basin. For instance, if someone is in Thermopolis specifically for a morning event, we would then let them know of afternoon events in Meeteetse, Worland or other towns. Likewise, those towns would let people know of our events.

This kind of partnership can be beneficial to those involved if everyone is participating. If we’re promoting events in other towns, but those towns are not doing the same for us, we’re simply steering people away from Thermopolis. For the partnership to work, there needs to be checks in place to ensure cross-promotion is happening on all levels.

Looking at it from another angle, telling people about events in other towns could be detrimental to the number of overnight stays we see.

But no matter where the people come from, one fact remains the same — they won’t be back if they have a negative experience, and won’t be recommending us as a travel destination to their friends and family. In the end, it always falls to the community members to ensure people will visit and spend money here.

Though there are some who don’t like to think of Thermopolis as a “touristy” town, the fact remains that we get plenty of tourists and tourism remains the second-largest industry. If we’re not careful of how we handle it, we could be putting ourselves in a deeper hole.