September 20, 2024 |
Photo – Visitor information sign – Bigfoot99 file photo
Platte Valley council members question the wisdom of pushing for more tourism in their areas.
Earlier this year, the Carbon County Visitors Council received a $300,000 grant from the Wyoming Office of Tourism. The Visitors Council board chose to divide the money among three projects: moving the fossil cabin from its current location seven miles east of Medicine Bow to the town’s museum, helping to fund an avalanche forecasting center for the Snowy Range and Sierra Madre Mountains, and hiring Cindy Loose as a destination specialist.
During Wednesday night’s Carbon County Council of Governments meeting, Loose said she is offering to visit municipalities and help them implement tourism related improvement strategies.
Loose said over the next few weeks, she will research each community in Carbon County to assess their appeal to tourists and the amenities they offer. Part of that research process involves a soon-to-be-released Resident Survey.
After the survey closes, Loose said she will address the governing body of each municipality and discuss her findings. The next step is the creation of community-led groups to develop ways to improve local tourism.
Loose said the interest groups should be made up of people of all ages and from all walks of life, including council members, business owners, and young people. The destination specialist said the groups will determine what, if any, changes are needed to improve tourism in Saratoga.
Thanks to the Wyoming Office of Tourism grant, Loose said she is able to offer these services free of charge.
Riverside Councilman Mark Helwick said despite summer ending, his town continues to attract plenty of tourists from across the United States and Europe. Councilman Helwick said people do not need additional encouragement to visit the area.
Councilman Helwick said many of the tourists have inquired about buying property in Riverside and the surrounding area.
Saratoga Councilman Mike Cooley said like Riverside, tourists continue to flood into his town. While the Visitors Council pushes for more tourists, Councilman Cooley said Saratoga can’t support the ones it has.
Councilman Cooley said the town does not have adequate lodging for large groups of visitors. With all the amenities and activities available in the area, Cooley said Saratoga has never suffered from a lack of tourists.
As of this time, the date for the Resident Survey has not been publicly revealed. Carbon County Visitors Council CEO Jefferson told Bigfoot99 that she is expecting to release a statement with more details about the survey sometime today.
