Retailing Supports Byway Development
The USDA Forest Service and an organization that includes byway promotion among its tasks partner to run a gift shop, the sales from which support byway development.
Who/What:
Ninety percent of the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway is on U.S. Forest Service property. The U.S. Forest Service and the Cache County Tourism Office, working with a volunteer byway corridor management committee, partner together on many byway projects. The Forest Service cannot run its own gift shop; for this reason the county oversees a retail shop at the county visitor center.
When:
The byway gift shop opened in 2001.
Where:
The byway gift shop is housed in two locations; 160 North Main and 1500 East Highway 89. The Cache Valley Tourist Council pays site costs for both locations.
How:
The Forest Service supplies staff for the visitor center and their responsibilities include retail sales. The byway provides products and cash register. The byway coordinator must obtain Forest Service approval on all items to be sold and all items must have an interpretive, educational, or informational quality.
To retail regionally-made products, the tourism office developed a "Made in Cache Valley" tag to attach to local products in order to sell them in gift shop. The tag interprets the meaning of the word Cache and its relationship to the mountain men who roamed this area. For example, the tag appears on a product that is made on contract between the Cache Valley Tourist Council and the county education and training center. The tourism office buys packaged byway interpretive pins for $4 each and retails them for $8.
Funding Potential:
The byway visitor center is housed by a local business that, as of 2004, did not charge the byway organization any rental or upkeep. The byway organization only supplies toilet paper and hand towels for the restrooms. The U.S. Forest Service supplies staff at no charge to the byway. The byway pays 10 percent of gross sales to the Forest Service. The Cache County Tourism Office makes about $8,000 in annual gross sales revenues that are dedicated to a tourism and byway development fund.
Why Retailing:
• Can be a long-term source of funding
• Supports byway awareness-building
• Develops partnerships with byway region businesses
• Can lead to other merchandising opportunities, i.e., idea generation
for new items
Resources:
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This project was funded in part by a |
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