Tourism
West Virginia’s natural, cultural, heritage, and manmade resources are a sense of pride for our residents and entice visitors from around the world to come to The Mountain State to experience them propelling tourism to become the third largest economic sector in the state.
A West Virginia Ten Year Tourism Plan released in September of 2012 states that “given changes in demographics, leisure activity participation and visitor expectations, as well as an increasingly competitive environment, the path to continued tourism growth in West Virginia must be well thought out and deliberate in order to maximize the state’s tourism potential.”
Through research-based knowledge and strategies, WVU Extension CRED provides tourism development assistance to West Virginia communities to encourage a process of lasting engagement, dialogue, and empowerment of local stakeholders who seek to understand how tourism can help to sustain or improve their economy, society, and environment.
CRED Tourism programs include:
Tourism First ImpressionsCommunity-based Tourism Planning
Research, Consultation, and Training
Meet Doug Arbogast, CRED’s Rural Tourism Specialist
