This was the third such regional meeting between cultural leaders and their travel and tourism counterparts. The purpose of the forums is to initiate a dialogue between representatives of the cultural sector-state and local arts agencies, historic sites, museums, performing arts venues, etc.-and those engaged in the business and management of tourism, ranging from state travel and tourism directors, convention and visitors bureau officials, to members of the private sector travel industry. At the end of the each forum, state caucuses report specific steps they intend to carry out as a result of the meeting. In this way the forum turns dialogue into action and begins to build a structure for planning and project development.

States Participating:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Virginia

Invited (did not attend):

• Arkansas

Alabama:

• Work on a strategic marketing plan to ensure representation of multicultural communities.
• Ensure that all state entities are coming together.
• First statewide seminar on cultural tourism.
• Co-ops with neighboring states on international marketing.
• Work with an economic partnership group: 42 companies that will work with Alabama cultural community on its marketing.

Florida:

• Have an official legislatively directed committee called the Eco-tourism Heritage Tourism Advisory Committee, which is supposed to report by December 1997 to tourism commission.
• Invite all local arts agencies to governor's conference on tourism.
• Recommend to eco-tourism committee that statewide heritage tourism information be integrated in its web site.
• Put cultural groups on a list for group leisure.
• Fund at least one historic preservation grant for heritage tourism project this year.
• Apply for ISTEA enhancement grant for heritage trail in Eatonsville.
• Conduct a meeting of key players and develop mechanisms for technical assistance and/or resource teams.

Georgia:

• Launch an Atlanta CVB Cultural Tourism initiative. Secure, design and place one million dollars of TV cultural tourism promotions. Inaugurate, publicize and sell cultural passes for the next 12 months. Promote Atlanta as a cultural destination.
• Secure support and commitment from the Georgia Council for the Arts, and the Georgia Assembly of Community Arts Agencies and the Arts Business Council.
• See cultural tourism as part of the agenda of the state of Georgia.
• Getting cultural tourism on the governor's tourism conference. Getting cultural tourism on the agenda of the Southeast Regional Conference. Involved in state arts councils conference to be held in Savannah in October.
• Secure one additional historical site for the state.

Kentucky:

• Establish a collaborative partnership across state government, with agencies that have a stake in heritage tourism development. Reform and revise a cultural tourism development committee that was established five years ago but no longer active, and bring new members into that committee. Survey of staff across the agencies. Analyze state tourism master plan which was developed in 1996.
• Organize a statewide cultural/heritage tourism working group using networks already in place.
• Begin cultural/heritage newsletter either on the web and/or by mail.
• Revise current cultural planning grant program of the state arts council to use for model community project to encourage collaborations within a three county area.
• Investigate linkages and opportunities of cultural tourism within a new program that Kentucky has just begun called Renaissance Kentucky, an outgrowth of the economic development plan. Work with preservation office to revitalize downtowns.

Louisiana:

• Explore the formation of a statewide cultural tourism partnership.
• Explore new and improved marketing techniques for visitors.
• Improve advocacy for cultural affairs and heritage tourism.

Mississippi:

• Establish a consensus working structure between the Mississippi Division of Tourism Development, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Mississippi Arts Commission to provide cultural tourism leadership.
• Develop a clear and coordinated message/definition to disseminate to our communities so that they can understand the value of heritage tourism.
• Identify successful development and marketing models (such as the Corinth Campaign Trail, Prehistoric Trail, and the Lower Mississippi River Initiative) and share them in partnership training programs that would be conducted by a consortium of agencies.
• Publish more brochures similar to one developed for the Vicksburg Campaign Trail.

North Carolina:

• Completion of an organizational structure; who are the key players involved in this initiative.
• Completion of a marketing plan.
• Completion of a phase one inventory. Take one county, Randolph County, and do a complete inventory of its cultural assets.
• Design a research model for heritage tourism and economic impact numbers.
• Do two prototypes for heritage corridors, one interstate - either South Carolina or Virginia, and the other intrastate.
• Coordinate a high-level interagency meeting.
• General assembly of North Carolina will receive a proposal for a preservation tax credit up to 30 percent.

South Carolina:

• Input from all states represented here in putting together next year's conference agenda on tourism.
• Prototype of heritage corridor covering 14 counties, one is an interstate corridor between North and South Carolina.
• Put together a GIS (geographic information service) database, including cultural, historical, natural, and industry related destinations.
• Install six visitor ATM-like machines for information and reservations along the corridor, not yet installed but designed.

Tennessee:

• Resolve to improve network contact lists through direct outreach to potential partners.
• Obtain input from potential partners concerning their most immediate technical assistance and development needs with respect to cultural tourism.
• Help plan three regional spring workshops.
• Work toward a statewide coalition of some sort.
• Be present at next fall's governor's conference on tourism, which in the past has not reflected interests of cultural tourism.

Virginia (also attended MidAtlantic Forum):

• Package a Jefferson Virginia integrated itinerary and tour encompassing all nine sites/partners.
• Publish a Virginia travel guide for persons with disabilities that includes cultural, ecological, and heritage resources for disabled persons.
• Integrate Virginia heritage tourism weeks into Celebrate Virginia for month of May's focus on tourism.
• Work with North Carolina on a handicrafts' guide along the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway.