ANF Visitors Bureau Hosts Group Tour/Motorcoach Workshop

By Sandra Rhodes
ANFVB
Visitor & Member Services

Perhaps Aristotle was thinking of group tours when he said “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

That was one of the sentiments noted during a group tour/motorcoach workshop hosted by the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau at Kelly’s Restaurant.

Around 30 people from the hospitality industry in McKean, Warren and Elk counties took part in the workshop. Business representatives were present from Kane, Smethport, Eldred, Port Allegany and Bradford.

Megan Bishop of Landmark Tours & Promotions Inc. of Lewisburg was the guest speaker.

“We are all a team,” she said. “The smaller attractions need to work together ... the sum is greater than the individuals themselves. An individual attraction can make a good destination; a region can make a great destination.”

As such, the area businesses need to band together to create a product that is attractive to visitors.

Bishop, with more than 20 years of experience as a receptive operator, also explained that static tourism is a thing of the past; people want to have a hands-on experience.

“People want to go somewhere and experience something,” she said. “The average day tour is six-hours. Guests do not want to linger at one attraction. They want to have a variety of experiences.” Businesses that work with group tour need to be ready to create an experience with a theme that links together a variety of attractions.

Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, echoed Bishop’s words. Devlin said that working with group and motor coach tours, “we can make this area a destination and put it on the map. Quoting numbers figures provided by the American Bus Association, Devlin explained, “A day-trip into a region generates an average of $2,415 per tour, and an overnight generates an average of $5,094 per tour of new net income into our region.”

Tourists are now expecting more out of their trips. “We can’t give them just the coloring books, we need to supply the crayons, too,” Devlin said. “They want to do something.”

For example, there’s a spot in Philadelphia where tourists have the opportunity to paint murals.

“What makes a site special? What can they do special at that site?” Bishop asked.

Many of the people who attended the workshop brainstormed ideas – what they have done in the past and what they hope to do in the future.

Carla Wehler, director of the new Elk Country Visitors Center, explained how the center holds a Country Bar-B-Que and has a storyteller come on site to add to the experience at the center. Jay Tennies, director of the Eldred World War II Museum, spoke on the “Stars & Stripes” tour that added writing a letter to an active serviceman as part of the tour.

Pat Carpenter of the Blair Store and Museum in Warren talked about who guests go through the museum and how they can make changes in the future.

Bishop and the participants then discussed ideas on how we could creativity build new group tours into the region. The idea of creating Weird & Wonderful Tours was discussed. This would play off the unique products, toys, natural wonders and oddities of the region, including a working oil jack in the McDonald’s parking lot.

Alan Chapel of the Allegheny Cellars Winery in Sheffield would like to work a “Big Foot” theme into a tour. There’s also the amazing engineering of the Kinzua Viaduct which will open this year as the Kinzua Bridge Sky Walk, a pedestrian walkway the built on the remaining towers of the historic Kinzua Viaduct.

Bishop also said businesses should not be discouraged if they don’t see an immediate impact to their business. It takes about three years to start seeing an impact. This allows time for the tours to gain credibility and have credibility and become known amongst receptive, group leaders and bus companies.

For more information on group tours and how your business can become involved, contact the ANF Visitors Bureau at 800-473-9370 or e-mail devlin@visitANF.com.


Pictured, Stacey Ackley of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, left, talks with Megan Bishop of Landmark Tours & Promotions Inc. during a group tour/motorcoach meeting hosted by the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau at Kelly's Restaurant in Bradford.