Tuskegee Shines in Tourism Magazine
Tuskegee shines in the tourism magazine recently published by Noah Hopkins and distributed primarily through the Alabama Tourism Department.
Noah Hopkins has done it again. He has produced another magazine that showcases tourism assets in Tuskegee and Macon County. His work is of such high quality, the State of Alabama Tourism Department embraces his publications. State tourism officials stock copies in every Welcome Center in Alabama and this means that travelers who stop in larger cities— Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile are being exposed to tourism amenities in our community. The magazines are also placed in smaller Welcome Centers, which increases the audience for the Tuskegee/Macon County Tourism Resource Guide.
The newest edition highlights The Oaks, well known locally as the family home of Booker T. Washington. Other content focuses on Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, Tuskegee National Forest and Dr. George Washington Carver.
There is even an article about graveyards as tourist attractions. The story about local cemeteries is juxtaposed to a New Orleans perspective.
Though Noah has an arrangement with the State of Alabama Tourism Department regarding distribution of the Tourism Resource Guides, he also retains a portion that he gives to businesses such as Tiger Pause, Loretta’s University Cleaners, lawyers’ and doctors’ offices. He provides copies to organizations including the Southern Christian Leadership Foundation and Tusk-Mac CDC.
Past issues of the magazine have proven valuable to UBT and school officials who took copies to meetings with New York bond agencies.
Noah sees tourism as an untapped gold mine that can help energize the local economy, when we get serious about catering to tourists’ needs and wants. Tourists need hotels and restaurants that serve a variety of foods and have tourist-friendly operating hours. They want places to shop for souvenirs and other purchases and they want a tourism experience that is easy to navigate. At every stop, they expect Southern hospitality and exceptional customer service.
Noah is using his skills and expertise to market our tourism assets but his magazine, maps and Website are just pieces of a much larger puzzle. For Tuskegee and Macon County to reap the profits from tourism requires planning to assess a broad range of issues including infrastructure, traffic and other environmental concerns, seed capital and support for local entrepreneurs and sustainability including well thought out events and activities that anchor tourist seasons.
Another critical component to tourism development is investment, which raises some important questions. Who is looking at how much money is needed and how we can generate those funds? Who is in charge of tourism and therefore accountable for growth in this sector? Noah, has many great ideas about tourism marketing and promotions. The 2017 Tourism Resource Guide is another example of his commitment to this issue.
Read the magazine page by page by clicking the arrow below.
