THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE HERITAGE TRAILS

hhotel occupancy taxes, local meals, and additional local purchases.Furthermore, the trail has become a unifying theme of heritage tourismin the region and a point of pride for small communities. In Jayton(population 534), a retirement home brands itself in commercials asbeing “on the Quanah Parker Trail.”Native American dancer, AlabamaCoushatta Indian Reservation5

THTP SUCCESS STORYNORTH TEXAS HORSECOUNTRY TOURSThe Texas Lakes Trail Region is home to the North Texas HorseCountry, one of the largest concentrations of horse farms in the U.S.Large breeding farms, training facilities, and equine specialists can befound in abundance, creating a destination for professional horsemenand horse enthusiasts from around the world.In partnership with the Denton Convention and Visitors Bureau(CVB), the Texas Lakes Trail Region worked to create the North TexasHorse Country Tours, which are rooted in the history of the region.Behind-the-scenes tours follow an itinerary with an experiencedguide in a luxury motorcoach, while self-guided driving tours allowvisitors to explore at their own pace. The Denton CVB also publicizeshorseback riding at some of the ranches, as well as arenas that featurerodeos and other horse-related events.While many visitsare day trips, overnightvisitors in Denton and nearbytowns significantly impactlodging, restaurants, andother area attractions. Thetours have transformed intoa powerful ambassadorbuilding tool, fostering a localappreciation of the value ofthis beautiful and importanthistoric, cultural, andagricultural resource.Above: Pioneer Park, Dallas; Below: North Country Horse Tour, DentonTIME TRAVELERSFor Texas’ heritage traveler, the journey beginsonline, where TexasTimeTravel.com provides accessto information on thousands of historic sites bytheme or route.Online promotions of the website generatedmore than 175 million impressions from 2011–15 whenfunding was available for advertising. This includedmore than 560,000 users who clicked on banner ads.But TexasTimeTravel.com is only a conduit tothe websites for each Trail Region, where users findinformation about heritage attractions across theurban and rural landscapes of the state. Since June 1,2013, TexasTimeTravel.com and the 10 regional trailwebsites have received more than 420,000 uniqueviews. Google Analytics suggests that at least160,000 of those visits came from agency-placedonline advertising banners and other advertising onthematic sites. High referral numbers from popularsearch engines (Google organic generated more than100,000 referrals) and more than 50,000 sessionsfrom visitors typing the domain into their browser,suggesting that print and online efforts have resultedin successful brand recognition for the campaign.Above: Sack race at an October festival, Caddo Mounds State Historic Site;Below: Kids check out a stagecoach driven by reenactors at a Fort LancasterState Historic Site event, Sheffield.

El Mercado, San AntonioVisitors at the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, HoustonTravelers planning trips can view or downloadmobile tours, download electronic brochures, ororder print copies. More than 8 million copies ofthese popular guides have been distributed todate, and despite the popularity of digital products,demand for the printed guides continues.Once on the road, travelers have the advantageof more than 10,000 iconic blue and white highwaysigns guiding them along the Trails. The Trailsnetwork is also the basis for other heritagetravel products such as the THC’s recent publication,Hispanic Texans: Journey from Empire to Democracy.More than 681,000 copies of the similar culturalpublication, African Americans in Texas: A LastingLegacy, have already been distributed. Thecompanion Texas Time Travel Tours app launchedin 2015, and now features seven thematic mobiletours. New tours featuring other Texas heritagesites are scheduled to be available this fiscal year,all using the Texas Heritage Trail Regions as theirgeographic basis.REAL STORIES FOR THE ROADOther Available Mobile ToursExplore the Lone Star State and its vast historicalrichness with the Texas Historical Commission’sTexas Time Travel Tours mobile app.Additional MobileTours AvailableSpring 2017.Place-Based NavigationThe Chisholm Trail: Exploring the Folkloreand LegacyAward-WinningDocumentary ShortsAfricanAmericansin TexasLa SalleOdysseyHistoricBankheadHighwayRed River Warof 1874–1875HispanicTexans:Journey fromEmpire toDemocracyTown SquareWalk AroundWWIIon theTexas HomeFrontImmersiveAudio TracksCurated ImageGalleriesWWI: Texas and the Great WarNow at texastimetravel.com/app

NEXT STEPS FOR THE TEXAS HERITAGETRAILS PROGRAMIn its 2018–19 budget request, the Texas HistoricalCommission (THC) has asked for 4.8 million for the TexasHeritage Trails Program. Of six exceptional items, THCCommissioners rated this a close second behind the iconicTexas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP).Both the THCPP and heritage travel promotionprograms were created by the Legislature in the late 1990sto help showcase state and local history. The Legislaturerecognized that the unique history of Texas attracts state,national, and international heritage travelers, and serves asa powerful catalyst for economicdevelopment in large and smallcommunities across the state.Primary funding for theTexas Heritage Trail Regions forthe past 17 years has been throughtransportation enhancement grantsfrom the Texas Department ofTransportation. Changes in nationalpolicy now require state funding forthe program, a transitional moment.If approved, Heritage Trails fundingAbove: Battleship Texas, San Jacintowill be part of the agency’s basebudget. THC Austin staff supportfor the program has always beenfunded from state general revenue.Texas Department of Information (TxDOT) grants havesupported the operations of the 10 regions (most recently, 75,000 per year per region), TexasTimeTravel.com, onlinetours and apps, and more than eight million printed guidesdistributed since 1999 through travel information centersstatewide. In the past few years, resources have been shiftedto create mobile-friendly websites as well as social mediaoutreach to millions of heritage travelers.For fiscal year 2017 only, the Governor’s Office ofEconomic Development and Tourism allocated 325,000 toassist the Heritage Trail Regions until the 85th Legislaturethc.texas.gov/trailscan consider the budget request. Each executive director—not THC FTE—reports to an independent regional board ofdirectors. Board members are volunteers drawn from cities,counties, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers ofcommerce, economic development corporations, localbusinesses, and community activists. Each region drawssome financial support from the communities it serves orfrom other supporting organizations.Annual studies of total Texas travel by the Governor’sOffice isolate the heritage tourism market segment in thestate at a minimum of 7 billionper year. The Texas HeritageTrails Program works closelywith the Governor’s TourismOffice and the Texas TravelIndustry Association.The House Culture,Recreation, and TourismCommittee focused on its travelpromotion interim charge in anApril hearing at the Alamo.THC Chairman John L. Nau, IIIof Houston testified in supportof the Heritage Trails as did thecity manager of Spearman in thePanhandle and the Chamber of Commerce CEO from DeerPark in the Houston metro area. The two latter witnesses,both longtime Heritage Trails Board members, characterizedthe program as similar to a cooperative providing valuableeconomic development assistance to Texas’ 1,200communities, most of which can’t afford a separate travelpromotion staff like city convention and visitors bureaus.Across the Lone Star State, tourism professionals andcommunities understand the significant return on investmentgenerated by the Texas Heritage Trails Program—the onlystatewide network that celebrates Texas heritage and buildsthe state’s economy.texastimetravel.com/app

The Texas Plains Trail Region encompasses 52 counties across 50,000 square miles of the southern Great Plains. In 2010, the Plains Trail Region developed the Quanah Parker Trail, a grassroots initiative that honors Quanah Parker, the Quahadi Comanches, and Native American heritage. The Quanah Parker Trail is part public