Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 5.13 Tourism and Development
Presentation #1 Title
Branding of Marshall County, West Virginia as a Tourism Destination: A Participatory Approach
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The purpose of this project is to establish a tourism destination brand for Marshall County, WV. Marshall County, located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, has a rich culture and heritage. It is home to Grave Creek Mound, the former West Virginia State Penitentiary, and the Palace of Gold. Tourism is growing in importance to the county generating $26 million in direct visitor spending and supporting 260 jobs (Runyan, 2010). A tourism committee was formed in 2012 to facilitate partnerships to promote the county as a tourism destination. One of the first initiatives of the committee was to establish a destination brand that identifies and differentiates the destination and provides travel experiences uniquely associated with the destination. A participatory approach was utilized to engage community members and stakeholders. The goal is to identify and separate the core, secondary, and peripheral items of the destination; establish identity and image; and design and implement a brand for the destination. The project has three phases: first phase engages the community members to establish identity and sense of place; second phase engages visitors to establish their overall image about the destination; the third and final phase brings together the first two phases to implement the destination brand. The first phase was completed in the spring of 2013 and the second and third phases are ongoing. The results of the first phase reveal the overall community’s identity and sense of place that will be critical in branding the destination.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Kudzayi Maumbe is an Assistant Professor in the department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Resources (RPTR) at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. Kudzayi’s concentration area is tourism/destination management and marketing. She is interested in applied research and works with communities on projects that address a variety of tourism development, marketing and management issues and challenges.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Doug Arbogast is Rural Tourism Specialist at West Virginia University in the Community Resources and Economic Development (CRED) unit of Extension Service. He is responsible for developing and delivering rural tourism development services and in doing so works collaboratively with the team of Extension professionals and WVU faculty to promote sustainable development of tourism businesses in West Virginia.
Branding of Marshall County, West Virginia as a Tourism Destination: A Participatory Approach
Corbly Hall 117
The purpose of this project is to establish a tourism destination brand for Marshall County, WV. Marshall County, located in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, has a rich culture and heritage. It is home to Grave Creek Mound, the former West Virginia State Penitentiary, and the Palace of Gold. Tourism is growing in importance to the county generating $26 million in direct visitor spending and supporting 260 jobs (Runyan, 2010). A tourism committee was formed in 2012 to facilitate partnerships to promote the county as a tourism destination. One of the first initiatives of the committee was to establish a destination brand that identifies and differentiates the destination and provides travel experiences uniquely associated with the destination. A participatory approach was utilized to engage community members and stakeholders. The goal is to identify and separate the core, secondary, and peripheral items of the destination; establish identity and image; and design and implement a brand for the destination. The project has three phases: first phase engages the community members to establish identity and sense of place; second phase engages visitors to establish their overall image about the destination; the third and final phase brings together the first two phases to implement the destination brand. The first phase was completed in the spring of 2013 and the second and third phases are ongoing. The results of the first phase reveal the overall community’s identity and sense of place that will be critical in branding the destination.
