Welcome to “Nature, Heritage, Community.” This University of Maine Cooperative Extension website provides research-based information and links about the key steps to community-based tourism economic development:

Community Tourism Planning takes you into TED, a tourism economic development model that helps communities and businesses plan, direct and manage tourism options. Online planning tools are just a click away.

Rural Tourism Opportunities connects you with tourism niches and customer profiles for a variety of community tourism options.

Business Resources are key assets that support tourism associated business, community and economic development activities.

Each section provides links to fact sheets, case study research, planning tools and organizations. This site is “information intensive” as distinct from glossy promotion of a product or service. Tourism leaders and stakeholders are free to utilize the data posted.

Some posted resources are from Maine, many are from other rural regions of the country who are dealing with the same issues we tussle with here at home..… how to raise, renew and protect the value of rural life and sustainable rural communities.

Feel free to offer additions and corrections to the content of “Nature, Heritage, Community” as it is an ongoing piece of public serving work. Any citation of private sector firms for examples does not imply endorsement by Extension.

Roger Merchant, Extension Educator
Natural Resources and Community Development
rogerm@umext.maine.edu