This report, A Tapestry of Place: A Place-Based Cultural Tourism Strategy for the Columbia Valley, is structured in two halves.
The first half, Section 1 through Section 6, offers a vision for the future of cultural tourism in the Columbia Valley. The origin of this Strategy is outlined, and the work stages involved in the Strategy’s development are reviewed. Next, an introduction to cultural tourism shows the size of the cultural tourism market and the demographics and motivations of cultural travelers. Because placebased cultural tourism is an emerging field of practice, its theory and practice are discussed, as are the advantages of place-based cultural tourism versus attraction-based cultural tourism. Finally, principles and practices of place-based marketing are reviewed.
In essence, Section 1 through Section 6 is a primer on cultural tourism and a guide to place-based cultural tourism. Its function is to provide an overview of the field, such that Part Two can be more easily digested. The second half of this Strategy, Section 7 through Section 9, is a guide for how the Columbia Valley can capitalize on place-based cultural tourism. It enumerates the region’s cultural tourism experiences, and recommends how these experiences can be woven into a “tapestry of place” – the product that the Valley will take to market. Next, a SWOT analysis examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to developing the Valley as a placebased cultural destination. Finally, recommendations propose the next steps to realizing the Columbia Valley’s cultural tourism potential.
In addition to the main body of this Strategy, an appendix contains the five Product Positioning Matrices and identifies stakeholders from tourism, business, culture, and local government who were interviewed during the Strategy’s development or who took part in discussions.
A final note: Although an attempt was made to identify all the cultural tourism experiences in the Columbia Valley, the experiences itemized in this Strategy do not constitute an exhaustive inventory. It is the consultant’s intent that, should the client wish to amend the inventory, the Strategy provides the conceptual framework to enable the client to do.