Alliance’s Tourism Focus Group Discusses Desired Additions to Dade

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

On April 11th, the Alliance for Dade gathered folks who work in the tourism industry for a Tourism Focus Group. (Dade Elementary School graciously offered up the cafeteria for use after school hours). The local business owners/community members who attended discussed the need for places to send guests, particularly in the evenings.

Sandy White (Alliance for Dade president and CEO) told the Sentinel that Walker County held a similar focus group which helped spur this event into existence, but she is unaware of Dade County’s chamber of commerce ever doing something like this.

After attendees introduced themselves, White gave an overview of the Alliance’s current advertising efforts. These include the Georgia State Parks guide, “Southern Living” magazine’s travel section, “Discover Georgia Outdoors,” RV park maps, golf course scorecard guides, local TV spotlights, and more.

The Alliance is also looking into hiring a PR firm to find travel writers, bloggers, and influencers who will highlight Dade County. The Alliance is working on numerous other projects (like creating more Dade County merchandise), and they have ideas for future improvements and projects.

Guest speaker Janet Cochran (who has extensive experience with chambers of commerce, project managing, tourism, and marketing, particularly in Georgia) then led the group in a brainstorming session. As the Alliance puts together a strategic plan and selects goals for the next three to five years, they wanted to hear from locals who are invested in the tourism industry.

Cochran said, “A lot of times in brainstorming meetings, the tendency is to want to think really big [but] we want it to be, as you think about things, what is feasible? Who’s going to do the work? It can’t always fall on the Alliance–it’s a two-person office. What Community partnerships are out there that we can tap into?”

Discussion mainly focused on the need for things to do beyond the immediate attraction that draws guests to the county. For example, guests come to Dade County for weddings, for graduations, to visit Cloudland Canyon, or to go hang gliding, but they often ask about nice restaurants and places to get a drink and relax. Particularly in the evenings, (once they’ve finished their outdoor adventures, attended the ceremonies, or already visited daytime attractions), guests want somewhere they can eat, drink, and take time enjoying their vacation.

White told the Sentinel that she appreciated everyone who participated in the focus group, and the Alliance left with several good ideas to look into. She noted while the Alliance cannot directly create nightlife attractions, Trenton’s pending Downtown Development Authority would be able to help recruit businesses that would cater to tourists. (White has already offered her expertise to help with the DDA, which would partner with the Alliance in many ways.)

White explained two of the Alliance’s responsibilities: communicating about events/businesses and facilitating productive conversations. She said, “One key thing is getting people to come together to talk about issues and what they’d like to see. Another of the Alliance’s jobs is continuing to get the word out and supporting other entities that are doing festivals and events so people know about what’s already happening.”