Pilot testing a methodology to measure the marginal increase in economic impact of rural tourism sites

Abstract

Rural tourism is a rapidly expanding industry which holds some promise of improving the economy in small towns and farming regions. However, rural communities have limited funding available for promotional efforts. To understand if limited funds are effective in producing the desired economic impacts, it is important that rural communities evaluate their promotional efforts to insure the future viability of the tourism market in their area. To this end, the purpose of this project was to conduct a pilot study to test a method for measuring the marginal increase in economic impact resulting from the promotional campaign of the HomegrownHandmade program in North Carolina. In addition to presenting the formula used to test this methodology and the results of applying it to HomegrownHandmade, discussion will focus on potential difficulties with sampling and data collection at rural tourism destinations.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 2007 northeastern recreation research symposium

Citation

Evans, April; Vogelsong, Hans. 2008. Pilot testing a methodology to measure the marginal increase in economic impact of rural tourism sites. In: LeBlanc, Cherie; Vogt, Christine, comps. Proceedings of the 2007 northeastern recreation research symposium; 2007 April 15-17; Bolton Landing, NY. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-23. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 250-255.