| STIRLING
CITY -- Tourism could be the leading industry in the north state in the
next decade, and Butte County is perfectly placed to reap its share of
the new gold rush, according to a county tourism official.
Speaking to about 40 people gathered in the century-old Stirling
City Hotel, Debra Lucero, county director of cultural tourism, said a
research organization -- the Great Valley Center -- predicts tourism
will be the primary economic engine for Northern California by 2020.
She said with "assets" like Lake Oroville, the Gray Lodge
Wildlife Area, Bidwell Mansion, the Chinese Temple, Bald Rock, the Gold
Nugget Museum, wildflowers on Table Mountain, and a host of other
events and attractions, Butte County is ready to become a leading
destination for tourists in the coming years.
"We are already set to be on the map. It's not like we are in Iowa," said Lucero.
Thursday's event was the 18th annual gathering of individuals
involved in all areas of tourism, lodging, public relations and
entertainment.
Charlotte Hilgeman, owner of the Stirling City Hotel and host for the event, endorsed the value of local tourism.
"My mantra is tourism is going to save this county," said Hilgeman.
She said tourism will bring enormous numbers of dollars into the
community without adding pollution or other negatives to hurt the
quality of life that draws people to the county.
The specific focus of the day's discussion was "cultural heritage" tourists.
Lucero said "cultural heritage folks," tend to be older, have more money, spend more money, and stay longer.
They are interested in museums, festivals of all sorts, cultural
events -- from local theater to Native American pow-wows -- and would
be fascinated by the Gold Nugget Museum in Paradise and the National
Yo-Yo Museum in Chico, according to Lucero.
These are also people who want to visit places like the Gray
Lodge to bird watch, or Bald Rock, east of Oroville, to see the
geologic oddity.
Then Lucero asked her audience how many in the crowd had ever been to Bald Rock.
When only a couple of hands went up, she said, "We aren't very good consumers of our own assets.
"It's like living next to Disneyland and never going there," she said.
Lucero said Butte County has earmarked all $40,000 generated by
the "transient occupancy tax," the money people pay when staying in
hotels and motels within the county's jurisdiction, to spread the word
of local tourism.
She explained she "leverages" those funds with grants from public and private agencies, to further enhance outreach.
One place where the word is spread is at the California State
Fair in Sacramento. She said the county, with the help of several
business partners, has an extensive booth at the fair. The fair is
important because it is attended by about 1.4 million people annually.
Lucero said getting people to the area is only a portion of the battle.
"If someone travels three hours to get here you've got to have 12 hours of stuff for them to do."
She stressed there is plenty to entertain the traveler locally, but more needs to be done.
"The energy is here. The ideas are here. The creativity is here,
and we could make this a jewel in Northern California," she said. A Web site focused on local tourism can be found at www.experiencebuttecounty.com/.
Staff writer Roger H. Aylworth can be reached at 896-7762 or raylworth@chicoer.com. | 
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