Idaho towns have to be creative to increase tourism, experts say

SUN VALLEY — Cities have to get out of the silo mentality if they want to be attractive to visitors. And they can’t fold to CAVERS — citizens against virtually everything — when becoming a place that is good to visit, good to live in and good to do business in.

Those were the suggestions from an expert on downtowns, tourism and community development to nearly 200 people attending the Idaho Conference on Recreation and Tourism last month at Sun Valley Resort.

Roger Brooks, author of “Your Town: A Destination — The 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism,” said there have been some innovative attempts around the state to offer tourists something they can’t get elsewhere.

The northern Idaho mining town of Wallace wound up on “NBC Sunday Today” after townspeople declared their town the “Center of the Universe,” and installed a Center of the Universe manhole that has become a social media phenom. They even staged a parade and other activities celebrating their newly declared status.

Read more: https://magicvalley.com/news/local/idaho-towns-have-to-be-creative-to-increase-tourism-experts/article_590b7f69-4779-57d4-9526-497a481ebab3.html