As I was scanning this article again that uses reverse psychology to entice you to North Carolina, it reminded me how important it is to showcase the experience versus the attractions of a place. I am happy to report I have done all of these things either as a child or as a parent. Seeing them all in this list, you can’t help but think “wow, that’s a lot of cool attractions!”
But they were never presented to me as attractions. Instead, it just represented the experience of being in North Carolina: the mountains, coast, Outer Banks, foothills, sandhills, the capital city.
Seamlessly weaving the best of what a place has to offer into the experience of being in that place is key to drawing people to it. Sure, North Carolina has as many zip lines, roller coasters, festivals, etc. as any place else.
That’s the point: those are everywhere. So it’s just as important, if not more, to lead with the experience of being in the place. How the natural elements, historical places, landmarks, and sacred spaces give you the unique experience of being there, and only there. That’s the competitive advantage in a world of attractions.
When I was a kid and my dad would take me on canoeing weekends in the NC mountains, he didn’t take me to Tweetsie (the amusement park in the mountains) and the mountain zip lines were still 20 years away from installation (not that he would’ve taken me to that either).
Instead, on the way, he would pull over to farmers’ lands he knew so we could hunt for arrowheads. He would show me on walks how to identify poison oak and what berries were safe to eat. He would explain how to use tree root systems to hike up a strenuous hill. He showed me how to put our food supplies in the river so bears wouldn’t be attracted to the smell. And he told me what kind of forked stick to find so I could cook my own steak over the campfire.
Sure, it wasn’t always a James Taylor song. There were plenty of times when some of our adventures were above my age level and left my mom glaring at my dad over my head while I would recount the stories on Sunday night. To which he would shrug and chuckle, “It’s good for her. And she did great…you should’ve seen her!”
But if someone asked me what I had done that weekend, I would reply “went to the mountains”, “went canoeing,” “flew kites at Jockey’s Ridge”. I would explain the best features of the place were the experience of being in that place, not the added layer called “attractions”. It’s harder work than building a Ferris Wheel, but the payout is greater.
So just a reminder: the best part of your place is not what you create as an attraction, but what is already there that you bring to the forefront as the experience. That is what you tout. That is what you market. Let the rest be in support of that.
Then, and only then, will people experience the place above and beyond the attractions. And you will create visitors who want your place to be their go-to vacation year after year and residents who want your place to be the one they never want to leave.