Another View - Green tourism trend a natural fit for Eureka Springs

Green tourism is a way of promoting tourism-based economic activity while preserving the environment. It may make particular sense here in one of the most beautiful parts of "The Natural State."

"Arkansas and Eureka Springs, in particular, are places where visitors have very easy access to nature, beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities," said Jeff Feldman, president and CEO of the Greater Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce.

"Eureka Springs is a great walking city and we have information about that at the Visitor's Center. We also encourage people to park at this wonderful free, flat parking space up here at the Visitor's Center and take trolleys around town. The chamber supports the Dump the Pump campaign by Eureka Springs transit."

Eureka has charming off-road walking paths in town, there is a new hiking and biking trail at Black Bass Lake, and miles of trails at Lake Leatherwood, a 1,600-acre municipal park surrounding an 85-acre lake.

The City Park's facilities make it possible for Eureka Springs to hold major outdoor recreation events like Fat Tire Festival and XTERRA Triathlon that attract large numbers of participants.

Eureka's watery world

Then there are the Kings River and White River for canoeing and swimming, Beaver and Table Rock lakes, and little known treasures like the Madison County Wildlife Management area, a 15,000-acre preserve located about 13 miles south of Eureka Springs off Hwy. 23.

But is green tourism just a flash in the pan?

"I don't think so," Feldman said. "Take a look at trail development in Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville and Rogers are investing heavily in trail development. Eventually there will be several hundred miles of trails connecting cities in the area. I don't think that effort would have been expended if it was just a fad."

Take a hike

The chamber supports a proposal to connect all the great trails in town and at Black Bass and Lake Leatherwood to the tiny hamlet of Beaver on Table Rock Lake.

"I think we could play in the same sandbox as the Northwest Arkansas Corridor by having great pristine trails for bird watching, hiking and biking," Feldman said. "It would be a very viable attraction for people who enjoy the outdoors. The Crystal Bridges trails from Compton Gardens to the museum are fantastic. Crystal Bridges is being built in a green, responsible manner that really fits in with the landscapes there. That should bring a lot of people into Northwest Arkansas, and Eureka should have an opportunity to tap into some of that visitation and show the beauty and green that we have here as well."

'Leaf peepers'

Colors other than green are actually one of the biggest draws for Eureka tourism. The "leaf peeper" season for people to enjoy the gold, red, yellow and purple leaves in the fall attracts a lot of visitors.

"The leaf peeper season along with some other events like the War Eagle Craft fair and the Corvette weekend make October for us like the Christmas season for a lot of other folks," Feldman said. "October is a good 30 to 40 percent of our year. Spring is also nothing to sneeze at. When the dogwoods, red buds, crocuses and daffodils are in bloom, it is one of the prettiest places I have ever seen."

Chamber saving trees

The chamber has taken steps to be greener including recycling office waste, consolidating printing and going paperless as much as possible to communicate with members.

"If we can do it by e-mail, it is much better than sending 450 notices by mail," he said. "When we can, we communicate electronically to save some paper and trees."

'Green' hotels

He notes that the Crescent Hotel has received press recently for jumping on the green bandwagon with respect to some of its laundering and energy-use practices. The Best Western Inn of the Ozarks also has adopted "green" laundry practices.

Could more be done to promote green tourism in Eureka? Rick and Karen Burry traveled in Wisconsin recently, and brought back news about the Travel Green Wisconsin initiative. Travel Green Wisconsin certifies tourism businesses that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental and social impact. The program helps businesses evaluate their operations, set goals and take specific actions toward environmental, social and economic sustainability.

The Burrys have lived in Wisconsin, and travel by car with their dog a lot. So they have a good idea about tourism trends in the U.S. Rick Burry says he thinks Eureka Springs could do a much better job attracting tourists and getting them to come back.

Eureka's pecking order

"Eureka Springs has an odd attitude about tourists," Burry said. "I'm not wanting to insult anyone, but I'm not sure things like pay parking everywhere are very tourist friendly. It seems like from the moment a tourist arrives, there is a constant pecking away at the wallet."

He also feels the area would benefit from keeping the roadsides cleaner. Trash, weeds and dead animals along the road give the impression that nobody cares.

"As we came back from Wisconsin, we could tell when we were close because in southern Missouri dead animals start piling up on the roadside. It wouldn't be a bad thing to come along and shovel them off the road, and pick up the cans, paper and other garbage laying around, and mow the grass and tall weeds."

He adds that things like junk cars, unkept roadsides and yards, and even too many for sale signs on homes can make a bad impression on visitors.

Look with visitors' eyes

"My suggestion is this, get on a bike or car, take a spin and look around," Burry said. "When you get used to things like trash on the roadside, you cease to see it. That is what a tourist sees."

Burry thinks a couple of other things could improve Eureka's attraction for tourism. One, there need to be more offerings for kids like a craft center where kids could paint or do sculptures. Also, the upper parking lot could be free (for buses, too) with a $1 trolley ride to downtown and back every 10 minutes or so. That would relieve congestion in the downtown area.