Orange Downtown Alliance Partners with Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership to Train Tourism and Retail Ambassadors
By John K. Jones | Posted: Friday, November 06, 2009
ORANGE, VA, November 6, 2009 -- With the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War expected to attract millions of visitors to the region, the Orange Downtown Alliance (ODA) is partnering with the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership to deliver certified hospitality training to frontline staff to help local businesses reap the financial rewards from the flood of expected visitors.
On November 23, ODA will send several local business representatives, who interact regularly with the public, through the customized and groundbreaking JTHG Partnership Certified Tourism Ambassador program. The program builds on the concept that heritage destinations and the people who directly interact with visitors have the opportunity to profoundly impact a visitor’s travel experience. Couple an improved visitor experience with a significantly increased number of visitors, and the bottom line for Orange County and communities throughout the JTHG National Heritage Area could be improved exponentially.
“Orange already has a reputation for history and natural beauty, said Jeff Curtis, Executive Director of the Orange Downtown Alliance. “Add to it a reputation for delivering high-quality customer service that the Journey Through Hallowed Ground will help us create, and we can turn an average visitor experience into an exceptional one. And satisfied visitors tend to stay longer, spend more and come back for more.”
The program was created to provide training to anyone who has regular interaction with the public: front-desk staff at hotels, waiters and bartenders, museum docents, tour guides, retail staff and so on. With the program just launched last month, the JTHG Partnership just welcomed its 100th newest Certified Tourism Ambassadors with sessions completed in Gettysburg, Leesburg, Manassas, and Charlottesville. The program plans to train some 4,000 in the coming years.
“Part of the unique benefits to the Journey’s program is to help us educate future tourism ambassadors of the heritage, cultural and environmental sites throughout the entire 180-mile Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area,” Curtis explained. “Orange businesses will benefit from those in Leesburg, Manassas, Frederick, Harpers Ferry, Gettysburg and all along the National Scenic Byway now being more familiar with Orange County and referring visitors to our wonderful part of the world.”
Tourism in Virginia is one of Virginia’s largest industries, generating $19.2 billion in revenue and supporting 210,620 jobs in recessionary 2008, according to a recent study published by the Virginia Tourism Corporation.
The JTHG Partnership has conducted national research to examine the potential impact of the Sesquicentennial Commemorations of the American Civil War and found that the number of tourists visiting the JTHG National Heritage area during the Civil War 150th could double beyond the normal count.
“The Sesquicentennial of the Civil War has the potential to jumpstart the local economy, much like the Olympics or the Super Bowl coming to town,” said Cate Magennis Wyatt, president of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership and former Secretary of Commerce for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The JTHG National Heritage Area serves as host to the single largest collection of Civil War sites in the country in addition to home to nine U.S. Presidential homes, 20 historic Main Street communities, 13 national park units, 73 national historic districts, hundreds of African American and Native American historical sites, sites from the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
“As tourism is the number-one industry throughout the JTHG National Heritage Area, affecting one in every seven jobs in some partnering jurisdictions, we believe we have a very special opportunity,” Magennis-Wyatt continued. “We have a chance to make them feel so welcome, so connected to our nation’s history that they come for the Civil War and leave with a burning sense to return for more.”
The heart of the CTA program is a half-day interactive class, supported by extensive reading material. Classes are taught by JTHG Partnership staff and subsequently fellow CTA Certified Trainers. This ‘train-the-trainer’ element is a critical component to a self-sustaining program – one that is relevant and represents a current reflection of the communities within the JTHG National Heritage Area.
Once frontline personnel successfully complete the specialized, four-hour training course, they are designated a “Certified Tourism Ambassador.” To ensure quality control, this nationally recognized designation is subject to annual renewal, earned by visiting JTHG National Heritage Area attractions, touring local museums, attending CTA networking events, and patronizing local businesses, turning each CTA into an ambassador of the regional as well as a patron.
CTA’s also are encouraged and given incentive to experience the rest of the heritage area firsthand. With access to an exclusive online database and network, the JTHG CTAs can get discounts to businesses along the Journey to personally see and experience partnering sites so they can recommend them from their personal experience
The JTHG Partnership has worked with a nationally recognized group, Mickey Schaeffer and Associates, to develop and customize this hospitality training program to help local businesses in this national heritage area maximize the potential of every visitor experience. The program has been implemented across the country in cities like Anaheim and Baltimore. And in Phoenix, which was done in preparation for the 2008 Super Bowl, police forces from neighboring jurisdictions trained alongside the City of Phoenix police department and stadium personnel.
The JTHG Partnership sought and secured $500,000 to underwrite this program, nearly half of which came from a grant from Preserve America. That in turn was matched by contributions from Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, Virginia Tourism Corporation, Tourism Council of Frederick County, and Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. All leading to a reduced cost for the training -- $49 per-person.
The Orange Downtown Alliance is a nonprofit association established to enhance the economic environment of the town of Orange, Virginia as a center of commerce while maintaining the character and integrity of the town's central business district as an attractive place to live, work, and visit.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising national and local awareness of the unparalleled history in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, which generally follows the Old Carolina Road (Rt. 15/20/231) from Gettysburg, through Maryland, to Monticello in Albemarle County, VA. For more information, go to: www.HallowedGround.org
John K. Jones
JTHG Partnership, Director of Communications
John@JTHG.org
703.999.7579
Jeff Curtis, Director
Orange Downtown Alliance
director@orangedowntownalliance.org
540.672.2540
