By Tom McClimon
July 14, 2008

Mayors from state capital cities gathered in Miami to discuss ways to attract tourism to their cities. Chaired by Richmond (VA) Mayor Douglas Wilder, the mayors focused on what can be done to increase tourism to their communities.

Stephen Richer, Public Affairs Advocate for the National Tour Association, shared five ways to increase tourism. He suggested mayors focus on promoting their cities’ cultural institutions, such state and local museums. Encouraging meetings and conferences of professional associations would be another way to attract tourism. Sponsoring, or co'sponsoring, events, such as festivals and sporting events, is another way to attract tourists. A new avenue being used to attract tourists is through volunteer programs, especially among the growing senior citizen population. This approach usually involves encouraging people to spend part of their visit helping to work with local organizations to address some problem or issue. The fifth recommendation was to commit local resources to tourism development, specifically in working with the local convention and visitor bureaus and tour associations.