Our area continues to grow. We see signs of it everyday...more roads opening up, new schools being built, new developments on the horizon. And with growth, comes opportunity for other positive things to happen in our communities. I just ran across and article about Leander, TX and the things they are doing to encourage tourism. I hope you enjoy!
Tourism in Leander
Leander has gotten its first taste of tourism in recent years by hosting the kite festival in March, car show in July and bluegrass festival in September. In only its third year, the bluegrass festival has garnered interest from out-of-state bands looking to participate. The kite festival, in its second year, had more than 600 citizens partake in the festivities.
“We’re starting small and it’s growing,” Leander Parks and Recreation Director Steve Bosak said. “We try an event and if it is well received and we get good feedback, then we will continue it.”
“When we first started [talking about] tourism, people laughed,” Leander Chamber of Commerce President Mary Bradshaw said. “But we need to start thinking about this now because it’s coming, and when it comes it will hit fast. We really need to start thinking about tourism and be prepared for it.”
“There have been some hotel people nudging around for a while,” Clennan said. “Lately [the developers] have been a little more serious. You can tell they are starting to have a lot more interest in the area.”
Hotels are typically built in a city when it reaches a population of 30,000 to 32,000. Leander’s current population is estimated to be a little more than 24,000.
“It would be nice to have something come in with a conference space,” Clennan said. “It doesn’t have to be huge, just enough room to host some events and get some people to stay the night.”
Bradshaw is hoping Leander gets a place for tourists to stay. Money collected from the hotel occupancy tax would give the city it’s first ever tourism budget.
“If we got a hotel, even if it was a 35-room Days Inn, we would start collecting some hotel tax money,” Bradshaw said. “We could put together a brochure, have it distributed locally and eventually start shipping them in small quantities to all of the 12 welcome centers all over the state and that becomes huge.”
