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To Eureka People: The following is a shortened version of the marketing proposal I wrote several years ago. It is still relevant today and, I feel, still offers a viable direction to go to regain our place as the number one tourist destination in Arkansas. The Need For This Proposal The City of Eureka Springs has opted to depend on tourism for the bulk of its income. For the last five years it has become increasingly apparent that Eureka Springs is not competing successfully for those tourist dollars with the other tourist economies that have grown within our cachement area. We have some numbers available that can give us a picture of what is happening. During our peak season of April through October we have about 3500 lodging units in Eureka and surrounding areas. About 1,000 of these units, mostly motels, had been filled with attendees to the Great Passion Play five nights a week. The decline in Passion Play attendance has devastated this customer base. An uncertain number of lodging units are involved in other markets we serve: small conventions, meetings, vacationers, transients on their way to somewhere else, weddings, festivals and special events. This leaves at least a thousand rooms that need filling seven days a week. We do not have a customer base to fil these rooms. Our position as a passive entertainment center (music shows, The Play) has been eroded by Branson, MO. Our position as a family vacation spot has been eclipsed by Branson. The advertising program of the State of Arkanses has made other areas of the state much more attractive for fishing, camping, etc. We are rapidly losing our affluent senior citizen/bus tour groups to gambling. Our festivals and special events, due to inefficient management, lack of attention, money and manpower, have faded into insignificance. In short, we have been out-smarted, outspent, out-promoted and out-advertised by out competition. We've lost those customer bases. Recovery will take time we don't have, even though we must make the attempt. Therefore, it has become necessary to create a new market for Eureka Springs, based on our strengths and impossible for our competition to duplicate in the next twenty years. While we do this we have to hold onto our present customer base by promoting already existing new things to do to extend stays. A NEW APPROACH- A NEW POSITION For its entry into the twenty-first century Eureka Springs will return to its original reason for being. It will become a center for rest, relaxation and renewal as well as a recreational resort area. It will be filled with spas, mineral baths, lodging that caters to a healthy lifestyle. We will develop entertainment based on an appreciation for art and music...an oasis for restoration of mind and bodies. All advertising, promotion and all articles written about Eureka Springs will reference historic beginnings of the town as a mecca for those seeking relief from pain and stress. All promotional material will emphasize history and recall the myths of the mystical healing energy of the hills that has nurtured a thriving art colony. We will play off our eccentricities, promote the availability of alternative healing, emphasize our uniqueness. Our Theme will be: "The small Ozark town that is getting ready to enter the next millenium by returning to its roots." PROPOSAL The health resort image will cater to the three day get-away visitor who is middle to upper income, the business owner who can get away during the week and retired persons who are into staying healthy. It will attract double income younger couples who travel without children. If we can create a daycare program it will attract families. The internet will bring the foreign visitor. The small convention and wedding/honeymoon crowd will also be attracted. To create this image we need the cooperation of every governmental and private sector of the community. We must construct a total environment health oriented, clean and safe while preserving and restoring our Victorian heritage. Our town must clean up, be landscaped, utility lines buried, antique design street lights installed, sidewalks repaired and the entrances to the town improved. The electric trolley downtown will fit right in and offer creative solutions to the parking problem. There is much to do on Highway 62 to preserve and improve appearances. The Victorian heritage is vital because it is the twist no other location can copy. All new building and growth must be compatible with that image. Even though we have the bare bones facilities to begin this project building will have to follow. We will encourage more of our lodging units to install whirlpool baths. The larger motels might find it profitable to dedicate space to establishing a small spa for their guests. We will need several independently operated day spas established for smaller lodging units to share bookings and package deals. What is a day spa? It is a place equipped with baths, massage tables and steam rooms. It is staffed with licensed massage therapists, estheticians who give facials and consultants who can advise on the proper mix of minerals and oils for bath additives. We know our customers are asking fior these services all the time and if we can start small, the growth can be explosive. Restaurants can participate in this program by offering nutrient information, calorie counts and "heart smart" choices on the menus. We will have to actively encourage new investment in evening entertainment. We need a dinner theatre, a micro-brewery, a re-furbished auditorium to offer theater events. The important thing is that all of us understand where we are going, who we want to be and how to get there. The CAPC and the Chamber of Commerce will have to be the leaders in all of this...the city government will participate actively with the right ordinances and the right controls. Each of us, in our own way, will find a way to contribute. Joyce Zeller, circa 1994 Return to "Papers" Index Return to Eureka People |