Tourism should play an important role in a balanced approach to economic development in Southwest Virginia. So argues James C. Thompson, chairman of the Thompson & Litton engineering firm, in a column published in the Galax Gazette in response to an earlier column by Jerry Fuhrman (See “Selling Bottles of Water and Granola Bars“).
The average visitor to Southwest Virginia spends $157 per day and stays nearly three days, Thompson contends. He cites the town of Damascus as the “poster child” for the benefits of a tourism-driven strategy. “The Virginia Creeper Trail, with an annual usage in excess of 200,000 and proximity to the Appalachian Trail, has literally transformed the town, lining the main street with locally owned, tourism-related businesses.”
Visitors are financially secure and highly mobile, Thompson argues. “They come from across the country, and many have the ability to conduct their business from any location.” If they visit Southwest Virginia, they may fall in love with Southwest Virginia. By developing tourism amenities and broadband infrastructure, Thompson writes, “we have the potential to create brain gain instead of brain drain by attracting such people to the region to stay and establish businesses locally.”
Thompson is taking a big step in the right direction. In effect, he’s arguing for an economic development strategy based on developing, recruiting and retaining human capital. That’s a radical departure from the traditional emphasis in SW Virginia on recruiting manufacturing (although Thompson makes it clear that he supports that, too — he does, after all, run an engineering firm).
I made the very same argument to the Shenandoah Valley Partnership back when it was a newsletter client of mine. If Thompson’s idea makes sense for SW Virginia, it makes even more sense for the Shenandoah Valley, which enjoys a plethora of charming small towns, old houses and homesteads to restore, beautiful landscapes and, most importantly, proximity to metropolitan Washington. I saw a step-by-step process that would unfold organically over years: (a) use the draw of tourism to get outsiders to visit the region, (b) promote the region as a place to buy weekend-getaway or retirement homes, (c) encourage visitors to settle permanently and start new businesses, and (d) build a new entrepreneurially based economy.
The SVP didn’t bite on my idea, preferring to maintain its focus on industrial recruitment. But it looks like the scenario I described is unfolding all on its own. Whether the idea can work in SW Virginia, far from a thriving metropolis like Washington, is an open question. But the region’s leadership is wise to explore that option.
