Adventure Travel and Rural Economic Development in the United States
Aug 26, 2010 | Filed Under Adventure Tourism and Social/Environmental Issues, Rural Communities, Uncategorized
While Senate partisanship continued to stall a Bill that would create a $30 billion lending program and $12 billion in tax cuts for small businesses in the US, there is still good news for rural small businesses in both state and national programs.
The Rural Microentrepreneurship Assistance Program (RMAP), launched in June 2010 under the 2008 Farm Bill, provides loans to qualified Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs). Adventure travel businesses can take advantage of the program’s mission to build entrepreneurship in rural areas throughout the US.
Microlenders, non-profits, universities, or tribal governments can apply for status as a Microenterprise Development Organization. Once accepted, the MDO can offer fixed-rate, low interest loans of up to $50,000 to rural small businesses, including adventure travel tour operators, technical gear or training providers, or lodges. All MDOs that have received loan capital also receive grants to provide technical assistance such as operational support, business planning, market development assistance and other services to entrepreneurs. Any rural small business with up to 10 full-time employees can apply for loans and assistance through an MDO in their state.
Businesses interested in applying can then do so through the Microenterprise Development Organizations in their state. The list of MDOs by state can be found here. Additional credit unions, microlenders, and organizations can continue to apply to become MDOs and receive funding and grants to distribute these loans and provide technical assistance and training services.
The deadline for the first round of MDO applications for funding has been extended to August 16, 2010. Two more rounds will be conducted this year, and businesses are urged to submit their applications early, as there is a limited amount of money in the program. If you are a small business or entrepreneur, encourage your local microlending agencies to apply for the program!
At the state level, the North Carolina Rural Center has also turned to nature tourism as a mechanism of economic development. Xola is working with East Carolina University to see the principles of sustainable tourism development espoused by the adventure industry applied to rural communities. You can read more about their program here.
Another program available for rural microenterprise development through the USDA is the Rural Business Opportunity Grant. These grants support technical assistance, training, and planning activities to improve economic conditions in rural areas.
If you are a small adventure travel tour business, state government, or MDO interested in learning more about any of these programs, contact Jess Reilly at jessreilly@xolaconsulting.com.
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Off the Radar
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The readers of our website are convincing me that the future of rural America, and actually rural Anyplace, lies in diversification. It’s not a matter of completing giving up on agriculture, or of giving in to the latest economic development fad. It’s a matter of exercising asset-based community development, and if the rural assets are enough to provide an “adventure” for a city dweller, let’s show them a good time!
This article contains some great resource information for those seeking to start a microenterprise or branch out into tourism. There have been dude ranches out West for a long time; now it’s ripe for the rest of us to catch on.
Most times international destinations are the focus economic development related to tourism. However, tourism can be a means for economic development in rural communities located in the US as well. Eastern North Carolina may seem like an unlikely place for tourism development funding, but the application of principles from the adventure industry are proving useful.
Mayors from ten municipalities located along the Roanoke River recently organized to discuss the challenges their communities share and to identify strategies to address these challenges. The Roanoke River Mayors Association (RRMA) was formed and recognizes the importance of developing viable sustainable tourism opportunities to the region. The four Roanoke River Valley counties of Halifax, Martin, Bertie, and Washington (in which these 10 towns are located) have been identified as Tier 1 Economically Distressed Counties by the N. C. Department of Commerce. As word about the benefits of developing tourism in rural communities and regions quickly spreads, eco-tourism is becoming a viable option to diversify the rural economy.
East Carolina University and Mid-East Resource, Conservation, and Development received a grant from the N.C. Rural Center to assist the RRMA in North Carolina’s Roanoke River region with developing sustainable community-based tourism as an alternative means of diversifying the rural economy. Sustainable tourism has the potential to link the conservation and enhancement of natural resources with the well-being of local communities through a number of positive benefits including revenue generation, cultural preservation, and capacity building while actively contributing to community development and poverty reduction.
This project provides evidence of the applicability and usefulness of principles and methods from the adventure industry in our our local communities.