The NET Effect: National Extension Tourism case studies

INSIDE

WELCOME

PUBLICATIONS Editorial Staff Kristen Devlin Heather Martin Rose Hayden-Smith

to “The NET Effect,” a publication created by the Extension Foundation for the Cooperative Extension Service. This magazine is an outcome of a partnership of the National Extension Tour - ism (NET) design team, the Northeast Regional Center for Rural

Farm to Stable Agritourism support program from University of Vermont Extension helps build capacity, sustainability for producers. Moving Mountains West Virginia University Extension

6 Ways to Use this Publication 4

26

Design & Production Heather Martin

Development (NERCRD), and the New Technologies for Ag Extension (NTAE) grant program. The NET design team, in collaboration with the NERCRD, was one of more than 20 teams awarded a 2022 NTAE grant, which gave NET critical funding and support to scale up the network’s activities. The NTAE program is made possible by funding from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, through a part - nership with Oklahoma State University and the Extension Foundation. The NET-

Copyright © Extension Foundation Creative Commons Attribution-Non- Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Interna- tional (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Published by Extension Foundation. Citations for this publication may be made using the following: Kansas City: Extension Foundation (2022). The NET Effect: Extension professionals help raise the bar in outdoor tourism and recreation indus- try (1st ed). ISBN: 978-1-955687- 22-5 This work, ISBN 978-1-955687-22- 5, is supported by New Technolo- gies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Support System The National Extension Tourism network (NET) helps build local economies through sustainable tourism, agritourism, and outdoor

recreation. 6

leans on partnerships to make meaningful differences in rural tourism.

32

What’s in STOR? Tour guides, communities level up with Oregon Sea Grant program. 10

Delicate Balance University of Georgia Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant’s coastal tourism program promotes economic resilience and environmental sustainability. Natural Beauty South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium shores up support for sustainable tourism.

NTAE project built on a longstanding partnership between NET and NERCRD, which provided leadership for this project. Dr. Lisa Chase, University of Vermont Extension natural resources specialist and director of the Vermont Tourism Research Center, was the project’s fellow. Dr. Scott Reed, emeritus vice provost for university outreach and engagement at Oregon State University, was the project’s catalyst, providing mentorship and guidance and connecting team members to the Extension Foundation’s exper - tise, which includes professional writing, design, digital engage - ment and marketing, and evaluation. The foundation’s publishing and evaluation team chose to feature the NET project in its new NTAE publication model, which will inform the content and look of future project publications. We are excited to present our work in this new format and we hope Cooperative Extension readers find this magazine informa - tive and inspirational.

The Way They See: FIT Michigan State University Extension visitor experience assessment helps small towns look at themselves through fresh eyes. Value, Propositions Extension team at University of Minnesota Tourism Center measures economic impact of and opportu- nities for destinations, events, and other community assets.

38

16

44

Website extension.org Contact Bryan Cave LLP One Kansas City Place

Popularity Problems

1200 Main Street, Suite 3800 Kansas City, MO 64105-2122

22

Utah State University Extension web hub helps small tourist towns handle big tourism challenges. 50

2 The NET Effect | Extension Foundation/NTAE

Extension Foundation/NTAE | The NET Effect 3

Powered by