Talking Together

On the afternoon of the second day of the March 2000 bi-national forum, participants sat down together in small groups to talk about the specific needs of, and real opportunities for, regional cooperation.

Each of the nine small group discussions focused on one of the topics - heritage and cultural tourism, improvements to the natural and built environment, development of trade and transportation, redevelopment of brownfields, and development of knowledge-based industries. Facilitators took very good notes - the full text of those notes is available at the Urban Design Summaries of those conversations are provided below.

Heriatge and Cultural Tourism

Participants in two sessions on heritage and cultural tourism agreed the region has a rich and diverse array of assets - arts, performance, entertainment, architecture, history, nature, industry, sports, recrewation and more - that beg to be linked, interpreted, and marketed as a single destination.

A number of obstacles were noted, however. Not all of the potential players in development are equally ready to participate. There is a lack of coordination in many areas, a lack of political cooperation and consensus, and a lack of popular support, funding, local pride, and local understanding of the region. While coordination is needed, there is a need to balance that against the demand for diversity.

The potential benefits to heritage and cultural tourism development, however, were clear.Attracting more visitors, getting them to stay longer and spend more, will create more jobs and support a better quality of life for residents, while improving the self-image of the whole region.

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Two strategies for pursuing the opportunity emerged from these discussions. First, participants suggested creation of a bi-national organization to provide leadership, coordination, and information toward bi-national planning and development.Such an organization should include representatives of government, culture, tourism, marketing, education, corporate, environment and other private sector groups.

Second, participants recommended conducting an inventory of assets as the first step toward a master plan.There is a need to identify and evaluate sites and possible thematic groupings of attractions, as well as to assess current cross-border marketing efforts, leadership, and information, and to strategize pursuit of funding from public, private, and philanthropic sources.

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