Tourists May Blow in Along Windy Trail in West Texas

Lubbock, TX, Avalanche-Journal ^ | 01-12-04 | Smith, P. Christine

[Theodore R.]

Tourists may blow in along windy trail

BY P. CHRISTINE SMITH AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Coy Harris hopes travelers taking in the sights along the newly planned 600-mile Power of the Wind Trail will end up in Lubbock.

Harris is executive director of the American Wind Power Center, 1701 Canyon Lakes Drive, one destination on the trail that stretches from Lubbock into Oklahoma.

John Armour of the Lubbock Convention and Visitors Bureau took the suggestion of a colleague and ran with it. He has spearheaded the development of the trail along with representatives of at least seven cities across the region.

"This is sort of a nontypical trail in that there is not one state that said, 'Here's $50,000. Go develop a trail,"' Armour said. "Ours is a little bit different. What we've done is pull a bunch of communities together."

Armour contacted the economic development heads in Plainview and Canyon and in Shattuck, Woodward, Elk City and Norman, Okla.

"We've been able to figure out who's got assets out there and sort of connect the dots," Armour said.

Each of the cities has contributed or committed money to the project, which will include a map, a compact disc, a Web site and advertising.

City officials in Canyon are still considering participation, Armour said.

The goal of the trail is to attract tourists to the area, Armour said. The idea of featuring windmills came about because they played an important part in the region's history.

"It really affected the settlement here," said Harris, explaining that there was a large body of water, but it was underground. "Everyone had a well and a windmill to pump it."

While the trail will span more than 600 miles, the typical sightseer likely will not follow it to a T, Armour said.

"We're not expecting thousands of people to flood Lubbock and follow the trail," he said.

Rather, people traveling near the trail's destination cities may stop in one or more city, leaving behind their tourism dollars.

"Then maybe they'll stop in Lubbock, stay the night, eat in the restaurants," Armour said.

Brian Thomas, the director of the Plainview Convention and Visitors Bureau, agrees.

"A lot of travelers between Austin and Denver and San Antonio and Denver ... a lot of times they make this their halfway point," Thomas said. "(The trail) will help Plainview, and it will also help the area."

More than wanting to participate in the trail development for economic development reasons alone, Thomas said, the project is the first of its kind and could lead to more cooperation.

"What really excited me about it was the cooperation of all the cities," Thomas said. "I'm a strong believer in marketing the whole region."

The project will be completed in three steps, Armour said. The first is site tours, which the group plans to complete by month's end. Using this information, the map will be developed.

Secondly, 30,000 and 50,000 maps are scheduled to be printed by the end of April with distribution shortly thereafter, Armour said.

The CD and the Web site should be ready by May 31, he said.

Each member city will distribute the Power of the Wind Trail materials through convention and visitors bureaus. State tourism agencies in Texas and Oklahoma will carry the materials at welcome centers.

Additionally, the maps and CDs will be distributed on racks in hotels and motels in Lubbock, Amarillo and Oklahoma City, Armour said.

The CD is set to include information about each destination city and places to find windmills. Each track on the CD will be about 10 minutes long and describe some of the history of the destination area.

It is designed, Armour said, for travelers to listen to on their car stereos while on their way to the destination.

The Web site will feature download-ready maps and links to each destination.

p.christine.smith@lubbockonline.com 766-8754