Scenery, towns sustain tourism

A recent study at Appalachian State University shows scenic byways and downtown areas in towns like Sparta help sustain the region's tourism industry.

Elected officials, business people and others working to sustain or grow tourism in the 25-county Western North Carolina region must work together to protect the natural beauty that draws tourists to the area, the study concluded.

"Individual policy makers need to understand that if they want tourism, they need to protect the product," said Mike Evans, a professor in the Walker College of Business' Department of Management at ASU. "Sustainable tourism such as ecotourism and cultural/heritage tourism is what brings people to the area."

Evans, along with Dr. Dinesh Davé and Dr. Jim Stoddard from the Walker College of Business, conducted the study of visitor interests for the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, which stretches from Surry County on the eastern edge of the Blue Ridge to Cherokee County in the western section of the state.

The report titled "2006 Survey of Visitors to the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area" may be viewed on the Web at www.blueridgeheritage.com/aboutus/research.html.

The survey, a follow-up to a 2005 regional visitor survey, looked at the multiple activities that people engage in while visiting the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area.

At the top of the list were scenic drives on parkways, such as the Blue Ridge Parkway.

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