Links to studies examining the economic benefits of preservation, conservation and cultural heritage tourism.
Colorado's Heritage Tourism Travel Year 2003, Longwoods International
Longwoods International conducted the first statewide heritage tourism visitor study in Colorado. Thirty-eight percent of Colorado's overnight leisure travelers engage in heritage activities. This same group accounts for 45 percent of all overnight leisure expenditures. Colorado's heritage travelers stay longer and spend more money than many other types of Colorado leisure travelers. They are more likely to visit rural farming areas, engage American Indian and Hispanic cultures, visit small towns and villages and tour national and state parks and wilderness areas.
Longwoods Colorado Visitors Study 2003 (PDF 0.86 MB)
The Economic Benefits of Historic Preservation in Colorado 2005 Update
The Colorado Historical Society's Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation presents detailed research findings pertaining to the economic benefits of historic preservation in Colorado. The economic benefits of heritage tourism are included in the study. The report also highlights examples of preservation projects, funding mechanisms and information resources for communities and preservationists.
www.coloradohistory-oahp.org/publications/1620.htm
Historic Preservation at Work for the Texas Economy
This study demonstrates the ways in which: 1) historical designations improve property values; 2) incentives for historic properties attract reinvestment; 3) historic building rehabilitation rebuilds Texas communities; 4) preservation of historic properties creates jobs; 5) Texas' heritage attracts tourists; 6) history museums draw tourists and bring economic vitality to communities; and 7) revitalization of Texas Main Street cities makes good business sense.
www.thc.state.tx.us/publications/reports/EconImpact.pdf
The Impact of the Arts Industry In Chaffee County, Colorado
Using a methodology developed by Americans for the Arts, Arts for Colorado commissioned a study on the economic importance of the arts in Chaffee County. The study found that the arts industry had nearly a million dollars in direct economic impact in 2002, providing strong support for development of the arts in this rural county. www.coloarts.state.co.us/programs/economic/impact/index.htm
Tourists' Value of Routt County's Working Landscape
Colorado State University's Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics conducted a study on the value of Routt County's historic working landscape to the region's tourism economy. The study quantified the value of open space and ranchland to the area's tourism economy. The findings of this report support the premise that open-space and working-landscape conservation efforts significantly benefit heritage tourism.
dare.agsci.colostate.edu/csuagecon/extension/pubstools.htm
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