Borderland vacationers often say that they first came to the area as children with their parents, and have continued coming back with their own families year after year to the same cabin, resort, campground or houseboat.
Following that principle, the International Falls, Ranier and Rainy Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau started a new initiative April 1 to attract college-aged youth to the area as potential lifelong visitors.
Pete Schultz, director of the CVB, said the initiative is part of its goal of sustainable tourism development. Starting this spring, students from Borderland who attend college elsewhere have been working to promote the seasonal attractions and activities of their home area.
The ambassadors are targeting their schools to pursue those interested in outdoor adventures and often go out of state during break. They want to attract them to their back yard now — and keep them coming back as their income grows.
“Who else better to speak to than their own peers,” said Schultz.
The promotion is organized by The JPG Group of Duluth and Virginia. JPG identified five ambassadors at University of Minnesota Duluth, five more at Bemidji State University, and two at College of St. Scholastica.
They train students to set up booths in student unions and talk “peer to peer” about the recreational assets of Borderland. A promotional DVD helps them to better communicate in the three-day events, as they hand out T-shirts, flyers and flying disks that pitch Rainy Lake information.
The love and pride for their hometown is natural and helps the students make an impact as they hand out information and promotional items on houseboating, camping, canoeing, or fishing, says JPG.
“We encourage them to spark the conversations, and get people’s attention,” said Danielle Clove, an account executive at JPG. “We just provide tools. They already know so much, and don’t need a lot of training.”
This is a grass-roots marketing technique to bring a group of people to Rainy Lake, where previous efforts have not necessarily focused on this demographic, she added.
“Our goal is to target young adults and young aspiring professionals, to encourage them to get up to the Falls and Rainy Lake,” she said. “We know that once they get there, they will love it.”
Reaching youth before they begin the routines of their life and careers, is important to attracting them as lifelong visitors down the road, she said.
A Minneapolis native, Clove said she began frequenting Borderland after visiting a school friend from the Falls. She added that JPG President Jim Glowacki went on a Rainy Lake houseboat trip while in college and became a lifelong visitor.
“Helping people create those kinds of memories is what brings them back to Minnesota’s vacation paradise,” said Clove.
Schultz said the CVB hopes to gauge the project’s impact by the end of summer based on more college-aged visitors. He noted that if one person, a couple, or a group visits while they are in college — it could mean future families will return.
“So far there has not been a spike in Web traffic, but we have seen the number of page views going up considerably,” said Schultz. “That says that people are interested and are seeking more information — and that alone is good sign.”
On this end, Schultz said the CVB is developing a “follow the signs” concept, where visitors will see picturesque signs that point out the things to see and do — from hiking to fishing; and houseboating to motorboating; to skiing and winter recreation.
Schultz said the CVB is looking into a marketing innovation grant to continue the effort. To learn more about the CVB project, contact Pete Schultz at 1-800-FALLS-MN or online at www.rainylake.org.
