Developing a community's historic resource inventory and analyzing its potential to attract heritage tourism

Many communities today look to Heritage Tourism as an income resource. The first step that any community must take in the development of a heritage tourism program is to compile an inventory of their heritage resources. This project is going to select a small town, develop a resource inventory, and evaluate its potential to support a heritage tourism program.' The project will concentrate on "Step One - Assess the Potential" of the "Four Steps" established by the National Trust in their booklet, Getting Started: How to Succeed in Heritage Tourism. 2 The project will also evaluate other criteria necessary to support a heritage tourist program such as, availability of over-night accommodations, restaurants, recreational activities, night life and festivals to help determine the feasibility of the chosen town's ability to develop and support a Heritage Tourism program.The National Trust 'guidelines are just that, they provide no criteria for the evaluation process and is left to the individual to formulate. This project will approach "Step One" of the Trust's guidelines and develop a rating process to assist in the evaluation of the selected town's heritage tourism potential.Department of ArchitectureThesis (M.S.H.P.