The Center’s Rural Tourism Academy is supporting industry and community leaders as they respond to pandemic-driven changes in the tourism and recreation sector across northern New Hampshire and Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.  

The Academy is designed to help communities better capitalize on outdoor recreation and tourism for community and economic benefit. Input from two regional workshops in spring 2021 sharpened that goal as participants expressed a pressing need for sustainable tourism that balances business and economic benefits with rural community cultures and natural resources.  

“We really appreciate this program and the Center’s help navigating these issues,” said Gorham’s (NH) Town Manager Denise Vallee. “It is vitally important that we be pro-active and find the proper balance between the number of tourists coming to our beautiful area and managing the impact of their visits on our local people and natural resources.”

In fall 2022, several destination communities entered phase two of the program by convening local teams of business, municipal, and non-profit leaders to explore changing travel and recreation trends, craft a shared vision for sustainable tourism and recreation, and start to identify opportunities for specific local action.  

In Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, leaders from St. Johnsbury, Lyndonville, Burke, and Island Pond are exploring a new collaboration to improve visitor experiences while sharing both the benefits and challenges of managing local visitation. In Newport, Tourism Academy participants are crafting strategies to better capitalize on local assets like Bluffside Farm on Lake Memphremagog.  

In Gorham, NH, Tourism Academy participants are focused on ways to educate visitors to be respectful and good stewards of natural and recreation resources and creating the infrastructure and the tools to manage the impact of tourism.