The Rural Tourism Institute
Leveraging Land-Grant Universities to Support Sustainable Rural Tourism Development in Appalachia
Learn more about The Rural Tourism Institute projectPartners
This project is funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and led by Doug Arbogast, Rural Tourism Development Extension Specialist at West Virginia University. The project team includes collaborators from North Carolina State Extension Tourism, the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, the Northeast and Southern Regional Rural Development Centers, prominent tourism industry consultants, and community partners across three Appalachian states.
Destination Consultancy Group
The Rural Tourism Institute will include three components:
Rural Tourism Academy
The Rural Tourism Academy will develop the industry’s first Rural Tourism Executive Certification program that will train rural tourism industry leaders and Extension educators on the principles of sustainable destination management
Rural Tourism Lab
The Rural Tourism Lab will be established in order to leverage land-grant university academic faculty and students to fill critical data and intelligence gaps and provide planning and research support necessary to help destination leaders understand the economic, social, and environmental impacts of tourism to make informed decisions.
Rural Tourism Peer Learning Network
The Rural Tourism Peer Learning Network will be established to provide facilitated networking and information sharing among destination leaders eager to share best practices and lessons learned and support each other as they embrace the opportunities and challenges in shifting from a marketing to a management approach and learn from each other.