Manufacturing Won't Save Main Street

But Destination Marketing Might

It’s no secret that many communities have seen a dramatic restructuring of their economies, often attributed to the loss of manufacturing jobs. Through technology, changes in the competitive landscape, and shifting priorities, the business and employment landscape has changed. The changes are felt everywhere, from local restaurants to hotels to specialty stores, in where and when people spend their time and money. The feeling is these changes have crippled Main Streets across the U.S.

While manufacturing in the U.S. is strong in sectors and not going away, we’ve become extremely efficient at doing more with less. That means fewer workers in total are earning their livelihoods in manufacturing, a course that is not going to reverse itself. But if we’re honest, manufacturing wasn’t the lifeblood of Main Street, it was retail. Malls of all kinds and strip centers were the real undoing of Main Street as a destination. Increased manufacturing in these communities would certainly be welcome, but by itself will have little impact on Main Street. Many communities that were built on industries ranging from logging to mining to textiles have also experienced economic downturns. Those industries won’t save Main Street either.

Why Build It? It's Already Here!

That doesn’t mean that everyone’s favorite throughway is doomed. To the contrary, it’s a fantastic opportunity for these communities to work with their Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus to create and build their own unique identities. They have to identify and support the businesses that represent their core. Then they have to deliver that message to a larger audience outside of the community. That’s what destination marketing can do.

The $$ Stop Here

While the direct way that businesses such as manufacturing and logging impact the economy, impact from visitors can be more difficult to see at first. But worldwide, Travel & Tourism makes up 10% of the global GDP. What many have come to realize is that getting visitors to spend the night or weekend greatly enhanced their contributions to other business. In fact, on average, overnight travelers spend three times more than daytime visitors.

Examples can be found everywhere from Park City, Utah and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to less-well known but equally vibrant small communities across the country. The subsequent dollars that follow the travelers to these destinations in many cases have become a major source of income—and effectively saved Main Street.

This post is an excerpt of one that first appeared on the http://www.wilsonrebranding.com site. You can read the complete post there, along with five steps to draw more visitors to your destination.