Regional Tourist Group Redevelops Approach

Vital members of the Northwest Arkansas Tourism Association believe the organization is poised to take advantage of almost surefire growth in the industry in the near future.

That confidence stems from a coordinated effort across a handful of cities and counties to rejuvenate an association that had grown dormant in recent years.

“Because of the strengths of the visitors bureaus and the chambers [of commerce] in Northwest Arkansas, this organization has kind of taken a backseat,” Marilyn Heifner said of NATA.

Heifner is the executive director of the Fayetteville Advertising and Planning Commission and one of several key heavyweights to lend support to NATA. The most noticeable changes figure to be NATA’s new branding efforts and the launch of its own website.

“We want to get out there and make a statement on our own,” NATA president Warren Jones said.

Jack Moyer is general manager at the 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa in Eureka Springs and a NATA committee chairman. He said the group hopes to select a web developer by Aug. 4, and have its website online in October.

The idea is to attract potential visitors to one landing spot, then let them fan out according to specific interests and attractions.

Heifner said the idea is “to market everybody together.”

And while the new website – www.ExplorenwAR.com – is getting most of the attention, Heifner said planning for some smaller print projects are in the works. The print program, she added, will have room to grow.

The redevelopment efforts largely come as the result of two primary factors: the soon-to-open Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville and the Northwest Arkansas Council’s identification of tourism as a growth industry in this corner of the state.

Museum officials, Moyer said, have requested the aforementioned lone landing spot for those interested in visiting the area.

“Crystal Bridges wants to direct inquiries to one entity,” Moyer said. “This isn’t all about Crystal Bridges, but Crystal Bridges has given us urgency.

“It gave our group a deadline, and we rallied around it.”

The rallying is somewhat surprising given the state NATA found itself in following the recession.

“Five years ago advertisers were less than enthusiastic,” Moyer said. “Two years ago, it was dead.”

That appears to be changing with the excitement building around Crystal Bridges’ opening, currently set for Nov. 11. Thousands of annual visitors are expected to become the norm at the museum, and NATA wants to take advantage of an expected ripple effect.

Warren Jones, executive director of the Arkansas Air Museum in Fayetteville, recently agreed to serve another term as president of NATA.

“I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I’ve been around so long that I just feel so strongly about tourism here in Northwest Arkansas,” Jones said. “It definitely is an economic benefit to the area.”

The Northwest Arkansas Council essentially agreed, listing tourism as one of a handful of areas on which to focus its efforts. That could mean major money to help promote the industry.

Moyer said NATA’s budget potential could be as high as $10 million, and others offered similar assessments.

“What we’re trying to do is not get left out of what the Northwest Arkansas Council is doing,” Jones said.

That kind of potential appears to be part of what spurred leaders from Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties to work together so closely. Moyer described the attitude among officials as “extremely cooperative and extremely principled.”

Officially, NATA represents tourism entities in Eureka Springs, Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers and Bentonville. Officials in Huntsville and Siloam Springs also are involved.

NATA doesn’t maintain a current office, but aims to establish one once it hires an executive director. The executive director will be NATA’s only full-time employee, but staff additions are projected.