Jeff Hajny

    Being a town on the interstate, Seward has a unique share of visitors every day of the week. The only problem is, the majority of these visitors are only stopping along the interstate for gas and food not realizing that a few miles away, there is a unique little town with a wide array of sites for any traveler.
     On Sept. 26, people in the Seward community heard a presentation about tourism opportunities in Seward from Michael Collins and Paula Bohaty from the Nebraska Travel and Tourism Division in Lincoln.
     "Our one and only mission is to market the state of Nebraska not only to the world, but also to Nebraskans," Bohaty said. "We want people to come off the interstate and see the beauty of the communities in Nebraska."
     The event took place in the Rivoli Theatre and featured free pizza from Valentino's and Pizza Hut along with free food and drink from the concession stand.
     The goals of calling tourists to Seward County presented by Collins and Bohaty were as follows:
     •encourage additional lodging properties in Seward;
     •encourage travel writers to write about Seward County;
     •create package vacations opportunities in Seward;
     •encourage downtown residential living;
     •create a genealogy center in Seward;
     •create new events at the Rivoli Theatre and The Gallery at the Blue Heron;
     •become active in regional and statewide tourism organizations;
     •develop back country and back road tours throughout Seward County;
     •encourage continued maintenance and updates on the Seward County Visitor Committee's website;
     •encourage better promotion of Concordia University's tourist attractions;
     •develop Seward's art potential;
     •develop an overall marketing campaign for Seward; and
     •increase marketing of the Pawnee Earth Lodge.
     Bohaty and Collins said Seward needs more lodging because the county can increase the number of conventions, conferences and meetings; it can foster economic growth at the intersection of Highway 15 and Interstate 80; more state, regional and national sporting events could take place at Seward's sports complex; and the city can better accomodate out-of-town visitors during the annual Fourth-of-July festivities.
     "The Fourth of July is one of the premier festivals in the community and the state," Collins said. "More hotels mean more people."
     Collins and Bohaty talked about creating a travel writers' press tour including attractions such as Seward being Nebraska's Fourth of July city, unique restaurants and bars, the Seward County Historical Society Museum, Bartels Rock and Mineral Museum, the St. Tikhon Orthodox Chrisitian Church, the Pawnee Earth Lodge, the world's largest time capsule and St. Gregory the Great Seminary.
     Some of the package opportunities proposed by Collins and Bohaty were Fourth of July packages which included preferred seating, free admission to all events, coupon books and shuttle services for lodging; golf promotions; a romantic weekend within the community including two nights lodging at a bed and breakfast and a dinner and a movie at Cafe on the Square and the Rivoli; and shopping opportunities within the Seward community.
     The pair said ways to encourage downtown living included a wide variety of shops, restaurants and services; historically unique and attractive buildings; a beautiful view of the courthouse from anywhere on the square; and cobblestone streets, colorful storefronts and attractive awnings.
     A genealogy center in Seward was proposed due to the fact that nearly 113 million adults in the U.S. are interested in family history.
     New events at the Rivoli were proposed such as seasonal film festivals and independent and avant-garde film festivals. These could partner with Cafe on the Square, including discounts on dinner before a film or a dessert afterwards.
     One of the main parts of living in an agricultural state known for its small farm towns is the back roads. Collins and Bohaty suggested holding back country and back road tours to smaller towns and to older landmarks.
     "Even if the buildings are broken down, photographers still love stuff like that," Collins said.
     One of their main points of emphasis was continuing to update the Visitor Committee website.
     "If you don't have a website that makes me want to go to Seward, then I won't go," Collins said.
     Along with promoting the community, Collins and Bohaty suggested promoting events at Concordia University.
     Some of the main points of promotion for the college are the Marxhausen Art Gallery and the Bartels Museum.
     Among the ways to promote them were to include information on these attractions in all brochures, work with Concordia's website designer to place links to the museums and other campus tourist attractions on the university's front page, and improve directional signage to the museums.
     Another proposed project was to draw more attention to the Pawnee Earth Lodge in Goehner. Their goals were to give the lodge a larger presence on the Seward County Visitors' Committee website.
     The two concluded their proposal by describing internal and external marketing.
     External marketing is defined as marketing efforts made outside the immediate region that entice out-of-town visitors to spend time in Seward.
     Internal marketing was defined as marketing geared to entice and inform local residents about the area's tourism possibilities.
     "The point of tourism is to get others' interest and to bring them in," Collins said. "If I don't know what you have, I don't want to come here.
     "I don't care about your economic development, I want to know where I can go to eat, sleep and drink."
     For more information regarding Nebraska travel and tourism, visit www.VisitNebraska.org.