Tourism as an Economic Development Tool (Quay County)

Worked with the Wednesday Morning Workgroup to plan and promote a round table on creating an Eco-tourism Business. The presenters came from Santa Fe and had not been to this area of the state. A tour and luncheon for the group from Santa Fe was planned. The speakers included the NM Tourism Department Cabinet Secretary and Under Secretary and a support staff person and three people from the NM Eco-tourism contract company. The morning tour was enjoyed by all and it was hard to get the group to leave one attraction and move to the next.

The training from the Eco-tourism staff was well prepared and offered some excellent ideas, but the round table by the tourism administration was not well run and discouraged some participants. The presentation did get some people thinking about what could be done here. It was a good start and hopefully we will be able to develop some activities in the future. Thirteen community members attended the round table

Pulled together a committee to offer customer service trainings for management and front-line staff. Two workshops for managers and supervisors were held. They were taught by Quality New Mexico and they focused on total quality management and how to improve the quality of your service with examples. Twenty-one people attended the workshop. The evaluations showed that they learned a few things, but those who were just supervisors felt that they were in the wrong workshop because they did not have the authority to make changes in how their business was run. Those who were business owners felt they learned a lot.

The workshop for frontline employees was held 3 times in two locations. Forty-six employees attended. There were three speakers. One of the local motel owners presented information on local areas of interest and showed a video. The director of our visitors’ center talked about quality customer service with examples. Home Economist showed the fish video and led the group in a discussion of how to implement the 4 philosophies of the fish program. Participants also learned tips and techniques for dealing with difficult customers. Evaluations of the frontline employee workshops showed 87% enjoyed the workshop and 92% learned something they can use to make their day at work better. 90% have a plan to improve their work habits and 81% learned about things they can direct customer to do around our area. 93% felt they were better able to deal with a difficult customer and 74% learned where the two visitors’ centers are in our county.

Pulled together a committee to develop a Customer Service Training for businesses in our area. . Worked with the committee for 2 ½ months to plan, prepare, and advertise the training. It was decided to use the FISH video and curriculum. The committee consisted of 5 people who are involved in the service industry and each took a part in presenting the workshops. Two of the members helped agent with advertising the workshops. Advertising was done by radio and newspaper, hand delivering flyers to businesses with a verbal invitation, and a personal mailed invitation, along with newsletter including the chamber of commerce and the Extension Service. Participants received information on what quality customer service is, things to do in Quay County, and how to deal with difficult customers. Three workshops were held. The first was for managers and only had 3 participants of which only 1 was a manager. The other two were for employees. There were 43 people representing 8 businesses in the employee workshops. Evaluations showed that 49% really enjoyed the workshop and 33% liked it. 81% learned something that will help their workday. 94% will try to make a change in their work habits. And 79% felt that they were better able to answer the question, “What is there to do around here?” as a result of this workshop.

Worked with a committee of six to plan a street festival for the News Channel 10 Summer Celebration Tour. The Summer Tour is something the news station from Amarillo does for one week each summer and a New Mexico town has never been represented. Before the station can come, there had to be many things in place including advertisers, an appropriate location, and equipment to hold a talent competition. The news station personnel handled the advertising component and the committee handled the rest. The committee had 4 weeks to put it together and advertise to get community people involved. Approximately 1200 people attended the event which started at 3:00 p.m. and ended at 10:00 p.m. A big concern was having enough food booths. Two extension clubs and a 4-H Club helped by providing food booths and we had 1 restaurant. Activities arranged by the committee included musical groups, an art show, a talent show, jalapeno eating contest, tug-a-war, dipper derby, tortilla throwing contest, pie throwing, and watermelon eating contest. Agent was completely responsible for the tortilla throwing and jalapeno eating contests and the advertising. Agent also helped with logistics and soliciting vendors. We also had a movie under the stars. News Channel 10 from Amarillo broadcasted their show from the festival. In addition to the activities we had approximately 30 vendors sharing information about their organization or selling items. The event was held in the parking lot of the convention center and in the adjoining ball field. News channel 10 is already talking about coming back next year because they were impressed with the response from the community. One motel owner mentioned that he had people come to stay at this motel as a result of watching the news broadcast.

Arranged for a training for the members of the council on how to use the internet to promote Tucumcari for free. Those attending committed to spending 1 hour a week searching blogs on Tucumcari and responding with positive comments about the community. Several members have created Facebook, MySpace and Twitter pages and post positive things and happenings in the community. Three members are continuing to do so, even without the council.

The faces in the organizations that deal with tourism in Quay County have changed a lot this year. We have lost several members as they have gone on to different jobs. Agent recruited 4 new members to the Quay County Tourism Council. The council planned and worked on several projects including a business passport, hospitality training, and new brochures. As money becomes tighter and people are stretched further, they have less time to put into organizing and promoting events or projects. With turnover and changes within the City of Tucumcari and the Historical Museum our year event, Quay County Heritage Dayze was cancelled for 2009. Also the group hosting the Six Shooter Siding Festival have abandoned that event. The decision was made in June to disband the Tourism Council due to lack of interest and hopefully help the Chamber of Commerce develop a Tourism Committee.