World's Tourists May

Flock to Vt. Villages

Vermont's unspoiled but vital downtowns are the second best tourist destination in the whole world, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Only the Great Barrier Reef in northeast Australia, one of the wonders of the world's environment, is a better destination for tourists, according to the organization.

The conclusion to the competition came at the WTTC's meeting last Friday in Lisbon, Portugal.

Bruce Hyde, the department's commissioner, traveled to the seventh Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Lisbon to represent Vermont.

The WTTC awards are known to insiders as "the Oscars of the tourism industry" and recognize "responsible tourism," according to Erica Housekeeper, director of communications for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing.

"This is great for the state. It really puts Vermont on the map," she said.

Vermont's selection was the final result of a demanding application process, which emphasized the state's program for Designated Downtowns, under which towns agree to plan for the health of traditional downtowns and to put resources into them. In return, the towns move up on the priority list for state grants and may be eligible for other programs.

The WTTC liked Vermont's application enough that it was chosen as one of a dozen finalists among 130 applications from 40 countries.

Vermont's downtowns were chosen in the "Destination" category, along with Australia and Greenbox, Ireland.

The finalist designation was followed by a site visit by a WTTC representative in February (maybe not the best time to visit some of Vermont's downtowns). The results were reviewed by a panel of judges, who made the final choice.

Vermont's Downtown Program has been working since 1994 to revitalize downtown economies and has 22 "registered downtowns," including Randolph.

The Department also has a similar but less demanding program of designating "Village Centers," and no fewer than 12 White River Valley villages have received this designation.

The Downtown Program has helped Vermont's tourism economy, the Department of Tourism and Marketing believes. Between 2000 and 2005, towns with registered downtowns showed higher-than-average growth in meals, rooms, and alcohol receipts.

Housekeeper noted that in addition to the great media coverage and the likely increase in tourism, the WTTC award should remind Vermonters about how their downtowns work for them.