A Marketing Blueprint for Responsible Travel Emerges for Tackling the Outdoor Tourism Boom
Photo Credit: The new travel portal for the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail showcases and directs travelers to local businesses and Indian Country experiences. Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management / Bob Wick
Skift Take
More crowds, more problems? Yes, but it's also pushing the industry to take a more collaborative and inclusive approach to marketing outdoor experiences.
The surge in outdoor recreation and road trips since the pandemic has presented major challenges for destination management organizations, gateway communities and custodians of America’s great outdoors.
In turn, the need to manage overcrowding, minimize negative impacts on delicate ecosystems, and direct visitors towards lesser known areas is leading to increased collaboration between the tourism industry and agencies in charge of national parks, trails and public lands.
And that means innovative approaches to outdoor travel marketing and management are emerging. Among the latest examples is the newly launched online trip planning hub for the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail, which crosses 16 U.S. states from Pennsylvania to Oregon, as well as 15 Indian reservations.
The website, designed as an insider's local guide for travelers, currently lists 1,050 attractions and small tourism businesses and is the culmination of a geotourism project managed by consulting firm
