C O N T E X T 8 4 : M A Y 2 0 0 4 19 impact is heritage tourism. Heritage tourism is among the fastest growing segments of the visitor industry worldwide and will continue to be so. But that does not mean a heritage tourism approach is appropriate for all or even most places with historic assets. I would estimate that of all the heritage resources in economically productive use in the US, 95 per cent are being used for something other than the tourism industry. Furthermore, heritage tourism is based on a rather fragile commodity, the overuse of which can diminish sustainable opportunity. So is the economic use of historic resources limited to heritage tourism? Certainly not. Having said that, however, heritage based tourism, properly managed, does represent a significant opportunity for many communities. In Virginia preservation visitors stay longer, visit twice as many places, and spend two-and-a-half times as much money as non-preservation visitors. In North Carolina visiting historic sites is far and away the most common visitor activity. And this is a state where much of the business community and political leadership think that their major visitor assets are car races and their professional sports teams – neither of which make more than a minor blip on the visitation statistics. But North Carolina is known for another culturally based activity. For generations in the mountains of western North Carolina has been a vibrant crafts industry. Today that industry – almost entirely made up of one and two person operations – adds over $120 million annually to the economy of that state. What is the connection between the crafts industry and historic preservation? There they have learned that historic buildings make the ideal place both to make and to sell their wares. The authenticity of the historic building adds to the sense of authenticity of the crafts product. In Maryland when we looked at heritage tourism we learned that preservation visitors stayed a full day longer in the state than did other visitors; the average daily expenditure of preservation visitors was greater than other visitors; the consequence of these two factors means that the expenditure per trip is decidedly higher. Heritage tourism is also the single form of tourism that, when done right, can preserve the local culture and enhance the quality of life for full time residents as well as for visitors. The same is not true for one more amusement park or one more time-share beach resort. Tourism is inherently a volatile industry, but heritage-based tourism means that local assets are preserved for local citizens even in the down cycles of visitation. I heard the president of a tourism analysis firm from Toronto talk about visitor numbers slightly differently. He eliminated those people travelling for business, for example, who happened to visit a historic site incidental to the primary purpose of the trip and concentrated on discretionary travellers and what attracted them. For that person who is travelling for pleasure and has as a major purpose visiting historic places, for every $3 she spends on the historic site itself, $97 is spent elsewhere – on food or shopping or hotels. But she came to town because of the historic resources. The leverage of that historic site, therefore, is incredible. The next on my list of economic benefits of historic preservation is, perhaps, a less obvious one – small business incubation. The vast majority of net new jobs in the US are not created by General Motors or IBM or Texaco. Around 85 per cent of all net new jobs are created by firms employing fewer than 20 people. One of the few costs firms of this size can control is occupancy costs – rent. Many simply can not afford the rents demanded in a new office building, a shopping centre or a new building in an industrial park. For many of these firms historic buildings are an attractive alternative. The 20 fastest-growing types of businesses in the US have on average 11 employees. How much space do these people require? It depends a little on the specific business type but around 200 square feet per person would be typical. What is the average size of a small historic building downtown? Almost precisely what is needed for this type of small business: 25 by 100 feet or 2,500 square feet. High-tech industries seem to be what everyone wants to recruit today. But 70 per cent of all high-tech firms employ less than ten people. Some idiots in Duluth, Minnesota tore down a whole block of historic buildings recently in order to build a ‘high-tech centre’. But in the fast-growth areas in Seattle, in Portland, in Boston and Cambridge, in Silicon Alley in Manhattan, where are those types of firms locating? In old industrial and retail buildings. Rennsseler Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New The Bridewell in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool, before and after regeneration Photos ©English Heritage
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