CHRISTIANSBURG (CAMBRIA) DEPOT
THE SCALE CABINETMAKER AND DORSETT
PUBLICATIONS
Introduction to Tourism
An Introduction to Tourism: A Commentary
The Cambria Depot Museum is located in the one county in Virginia that does not seem to have a firmly entrenched tourism sector to the local economy, excepting, of course, Virginia Tech football. Given all the New River Valley has to offer, this comes as something of a surprise.
Each of the surrounding counties and towns tout their tourism attributes on their official websites. Giles County, on the official government website, invites web visitors to "Plan Your Next Visit to Giles County" and provides a Calendar of events and links to recreation, area events, points of interest, maps and area info, and lodging and dining, as well as the access to governmental functions. While Floyd County's website is a bit more traditional, the menu bar at the top includes a section for visitors and provides information on major attractions, events, trails, Floyd County history, directions and maps, and links to regional offerings. Pulaski County touts itself as "Virginia's Natural Treasure" and like Floyd and Giles, includes visitor information in the top navagation bar, including places to stay, things to do, as well as access to specific attractions. The City of Radford has a link to the City's Tourism website, which is produced by the Radford Tourism Center, located in the Glencoe Museum. All four sites have images designed to appeal to outside visitors: the New River, Mabry's Mill, or a natural vista. All four include links to attractions outside of the immediate area.
Then you have Montgomery County, Blacksburg, and Christiansburg. The Montgomery County website doesn't even mention visitors. Blacksburg mentions "Visiting," and includes links to select sites in town, but references nothing beyond the town boundaries. Christiansburg is only slightly better and in some ways far worse. The town's website provides an extensive list of mall names, most of which are located within spitting distance of each other and feature national chains only, and fails to include areas or points of interest beyond the Mall area and the Montgomery Museum (a fine museum and worth your time, especially when they have local arts events and shows). It sends the message that there is nothing beyond shopping and town constructed recreational facilities to lure visitors off the Interstate, although the front page of the Christiansburg's website includes images of a variety of sights. Unlike the other jurisdictions, the approach to tourism in Montgomery County and its jurisdictions is, at best, myopic.
In the spirit of full disclosure, the Historic Cambria website was started to address local failures in tourism promotion. We were somewhat disheartened to discover that Cambria was worth mentioning in nationally published train-related guidebooks, but wasn't even acknowledged (either as an attraction or as a shopping area) by the town in which it is located. Recent conversations and the move to develop a tourism and convention bureau for the three jurisdictions indicates a shift in the right direction, but it is likely to be a slow slog if each jurisdiction maintains the current local tunnel vision rather than a regional attitude. As a service to our local policymakers, we decided to provide an introduction to tourism, access to web-based tourism resources, and a list of places to go and things to do in Montgomery County, Blacksburg, and Christiansburg, since none of the three jurisdictions seem inclined to provide the information to visitors.
An Overview of Tourism
There are as many definitions for tourism and tourist as there are tacky tourist shops selling genuine Yellowstone t-shirts, souvenier spoons, and state-shaped refridgerator magnets, all made in China. The definitions, however, do have a number of common themes:
Tourism:
Tourist: