01.14.13
Posted in Adventure Tourism, Bluegrass Region, Destination Tourism, Kentucky, South Africa, Tourism, Travel at 10:27 pm by Thomas
I am recently back from my third(3rd) trip to South Africa in the past year having spent a total of nearly 6 weeks there and I have learned quite a bit. Most of what drove the South African Economy of the past was mineral(Gold, Diamonds, Rare Earth Minerals, etc…) wealth. As that has begun to decline South Africa’s other major industry, tourism has come into its own.
I am not going to beat around the bush, the thing that South African Tourism does well, is to sell South Africa as a Destination and a one of a kind experience, somewhere you go and spend a week or two. This is something that I don’t feel Kentucky does and I am sure I will get many people who will disagree with me on that, but at the very least I will get most of those people to agree we do not do it to the degree we could and should.
Now to be fair, South Africa has some natural advantages that Kentucky does not but Kentucky has a beauty that I would put up against any place in the World and its own unique character that makes it a Great Tourism Destination. The key with Destination Tourism is that you really are trying to sell to a far off audience, like South African’s, Europeans or just about anybody else on the planet.
I feel there are 4 keys to developing Kentucky as a Great Destination.
- Natural Beauty – Kentucky has a beauty that comes through in pictures that people find alluring.
- Southern Charm – We do posses an inviting personality that people generally find as warm and relaxing after they have been here. That is something a little harder to convey to people who haven’t been here but it is possible with the right marketing.
- Adventure Tourism – Everything from horse back riding, hiking, cycling, boating to the Kentucky Horse Park and Horse Shows. Activities that people can do with just the clothes on their back and a couple of days.
- Location, Location, Location – Kentucky is very centrally located which allows someone to come here and do day and overnight trips to a number of key Cites and sites, such as Nashville or Chicago or Washington DC. Even New York City or Disney World are simple plane flights away.
While in South Africa we actually did a day trip up to Botswana just to have that experience and to check out the new Bush Babies Lodge on the Limpopo River that separates South Africa from Botswana. And on our way back to the States, we came via Europe and changed flights in Paris, France on New Year’s Eve just to get in another destination. Now to be fair, we were only on the ground 5 hours so didn’t have time to leave the airport, but still I have the experience of saying I was in Paris for New Year’s Eve 2013.
My point being, that is why everyone wants to travel to far off lands and sometimes even the State next door, is for the experience and I have come to the conclusion that there are 7 billion people on the planet that all want to come to Kentucky they just don’t know it yet. I realize most of those 7 billion people don’t have that luxury of being able to travel that far but there are a lot of people who can and Kentucky needs to be on their list of Destinations they want to visit in their Life times.
Kentucky Colonel
Thomas Demond
KyWEGO
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01.13.09
Posted in Adventure Tourism, Bluegrass Region, Fort Harrod Back Country Horsemen, Kentucky, Volunteerism at 10:38 pm by Thomas
Harrodsburg, KY, January 12, 2009 – A local team of oxen, owned by Fort Harrod Back Country Horsemen (Ft. Harrod BCH) member Brian Rogers, will work with trail enthusiasts on February 7-8, 2009 to clean out an old dump site at Eagle’s Nest Equestrian Trails in Harrodsburg. The site primarily contains old tires which work crews will dislodge and load onto a sled pulled by the trained steers.
Rogers’ oxen currently are used for light farm work including pulling a chain drag, pulling logs, moving stones and feed, and more. The two-and-a-half year old pair has been working in yoke for the past two years and travel annually to participate in the Midwest Ox Drover’s Gathering in Scotts Michigan.
“By using oxen to remove the debris we hope to limit the impact on the environment and minimize damage to the vegetation. This is also a great way for us to incorporate the use of draft stock in our trail maintenance efforts,” stated Emily Dennis, President of the Ft. Harrod BCH.
The tires will be removed from the Cornishville Road area of Eagle’s Nest to a proper disposal location. Eagle’s Nest Trail Boss, Dennis Blackburn, is currently working with other Ft. Harrod BCH members and the local community to identify a low cost or no cost recycling or disposal alternative for the tires.
Eagle’s Nest Equestrian Trails is closed for both January and February to reduce impact and erosion to the trails. The scheduled work days are to be conducted on foot and without horses.
Individuals wishing to join the trail clean up efforts will be shuttled from the pavilion at Eagle’s Nest to the clean up site. Clean up efforts begin at 10 a.m. with a midday lunch break featuring potluck chili. Participants are asked to bring prepared chili to mix and heat at the work site or an appropriate side dish and their own non-alcoholic beverages. RSVP to confirm attendance by contacting Dennis Blackburn at 859-613-2665 or hardrockfarm@gmail.com.
For more information or to join the Fort Harrod Back Country Horsemen contact Emily Dennis at edennis@fewpb.net or 502-330-8798 or Dennis Blackburn at hardrockfarm@gmail.com or 859-613-2665.
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03.29.08
Posted in Bluegrass Region, Tourism at 10:16 pm by Thomas
I completed my Bluegrass Tourism Ambassador Program on Thursday and am waiting the results of my test to see if I have earned the designation of Certified Tourism Ambassador™ (CTA). Lexington is among 5 cities so far to participate in the program and classes here in Lexington just started at the end of last year. This program is designed; “To increase regional tourism by inspiring-front-line hospitality employees and volunteers to turn every visitor encounter into a positive experience”.
The class is 4 hours long but there is reading material and exercises to be completed before the class that took me about 10 hours over a weeks time to complete. The reading material is provided in a well put together manual that goes into great depth on everything one would need to know to provide a better experience for tourists to our area.
There are keeping the class size to 20 or so and it was an incredible learning experience and I came away with much. The cost of the total program was only $20 and that is certainly very inexpensive for all that I got out of it. I would certainly recommend it to pretty much everybody who has some interaction with the tourism public or simply wants to get a greater appreciation of all the wonderful things that our area has to offer.
For more information and to sign-up go to 
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