Once again, Elkhorn City has been nominated as the best outdoor town in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine. BRO is circulated from Baltimore to Atlanta, with a readership of approximately 350,000 people per issue. It is the definitive guide for all types of outdoor lovers activities in the southeast and mid-Atlantic region.
We're up against towns like Asheville, NC, Damascus and Abingdon, VA, Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN, and many other places lots of folk from around here look at when they're looking for nice places to go to get away. Places with hotels and restaurants, clubs and bars, things most of us look for when we're thinking about a vacation.
And there we are in the middle of these places. We got on that list for several reasons, but I'll point to two. One, because we've got world class whitewater, fishing, hiking and other things folk like to do outside. We are the gateway to the most beautiful park in two states. We're at the crossroads of two cross country trails, the Great Eastern Trail and the TransAmerica Bike Trail. And the Russell Fork is on every kayaker's "must do" list when they get past the beginner level of the sport.
The second reason is because we treat our guests very well. Locals are friendly and go out of their way to help when a visitor needs assistance. We have had an incredible "grass-roots" promotional effort over the last 15 years that has made sure we were high profile at other outdoor festivals, in the outdoor media, and with movers and shakers in the different outdoor sports disciplines.
Getting on that list wasn't an accident. But staying on it is going to require some locals in elected positions to get it.
So, the question of the day is, how do we convince the local powers that be, from city to county, to recognize what people one hundred miles away see as obvious? There is no other town in the state as rich in world class natural outdoor attractions as Elkhorn City, period. No other town attracts people from all over the world to boat, fish, and hike like we do.
It isn't just marketing that makes these things happen. You have to have the goods. It's easy to attract people to your place once, but if that experience was less than they expected, forget that return trip. We know, through surveys of our visitors, that easily over 80% of adventure tourists return. That's a pretty good retention rate. We also know each visitor drops around $200 per trip.
I might have said this before, but the time is absolutely ripe to start taking advantage and building upon our assets. This is no time to be thinking small, to be jealous of people who are succeeding, or to hold ridiculous political grudges. We've had way too much of that in the last few years.
The candidates are now in place for city and county seats. I challenge all those who are running for office in positions that can influence our future to buy in to a real future for Elkhorn City. They used to say we could be the next Gatlinburg. That's junk. We need to be the first Elkhorn City and lead the way. If you're a candidate and you don't want to accept that, then get out of the way.