If the future of Southwest Virginia is tourism, the region doesn’t have much of a future. So concludes Southwest Virginia blogger Jerry Fuhrman (From on High) in a column for the Gazette in Galax. Fuhrman doesn’t see much coming from the hope expressed by some local politicians that the antidote to the declining manufacturing base is luring more tourists, bikers and hikers to the region.
Implicit in that policy recommendation, he says:
Southwest Virginia has nothing going for it save some rocks and bushes, so we need to promote what little we have in the forlorn hope that we can lure northerners down here to partake of our scenic splendor, and while doing so, get them to purchase a hot dog and a bottled water at the local gas station. That, friends, is the plan for our future success. …
While we await positive results from all the efforts that are going into developing our tourism business, a troubling trend emerges. Gas prices, some experts fear, are going to curtail vacation plans for many would-be tourists, an issue that may be playing out already.The Forest Service announced recently that some facilities in the Jefferson National Forest are being closed because of poor attendance. …
It’s time – no, it’s long past time – that we changed course. It’s past time that we told our political leaders that the plan they all signed on to is failing us at the very same time the companies they should be doing everything they can to support and defend are failing as well.
We either change course or we pack our bags and head north to find work.
I still remember the stir we created at Virginia Business a decade or so ago when we quoted state tourism director Pat McMahon (may he rest in peace) regarding the promotion of tourism in the far Southwest. He didn’t see much benefit coming from it. The only thing the bikers and hikers spend their money, he said, is bottled water and granola bars. McMahon caught a lot of flack for his honesty.
Southwest Virginia is a beautiful place. I’ve been there, admired it. But there are a lot of beautiful places, many of them more accessible. For inspiration, SW Virginia economic developers should look south to North Carolina, where the mountains are attracting multi-millions of retirement-resort investment.