Per the Lincoln County Authority of Tourism’s (LCAT) Sept. 21 report to the Lincoln County Regional Development Authority (LCRDA), Christine Harrington, chair of the LCAT Caliente Area Mountain Bicycling Alliance (CAMBA) committee, recently was interviewed by Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto about the trails and their effect on the community. Also, KSNV News3 called to discuss tourism in Lincoln County.
One of the reasons LCAT is getting so much attention is that the collaboration between agencies to develop the trails has impressed people in high-level positions, who can then offer assistance. Now that the trails are being developed, LCAT has been tasked with maintaining this coordination between the city, state parks, BLM, etc.
Lincoln County’s Destination Development Pilot Program funding was safeguarded, and thus the expenditure was approved to move forward to late fall 2020.
This program was created under the Department of Tourism and Culture, under the direction of Brenda Scolari, director of Travel Nevada. Along with LCAT, multiple parties will be involved in the development of the pilot program, including the USDA, GOED, and Travel Nevada. All parties will be operating under the guidance of the Coraggio Group, a consulting firm that has developed and run similar programs in over 15 other states.
LCAT’s contact at Travel Nevada, Shari Bombard, provided an update Sept. 17, saying everything will be moving ahead and work is expected to begin in late October or November.
The consultant will draft a plan that LCAT will meet and discuss, the goal being to evaluate how to make Lincoln County a tourism destination, including any necessary infrastructure or capital improvements. About $20,000 is available to assist in meeting any goals that are ultimately established.
LCAT has representatives at both the county commission and City of Caliente meetings and is an active participant in both.
LCAT will be requesting support from both the Lincoln County and the Caliente Room Tax Boards to support efforts to keep Lincoln County tourism a viable economic resource for stability and growth.
Can we ask the public what they want? Is it possible to give us the chance to vote on whether or not we want to become a “Tourist Destination?”
LCAT does not speak for all Lincoln County residents.
We are in a “Chicken or Egg First” situation.
We don’t have the proper facilities to provide services to tourists.
We don’t have the money to upgrade the buildings or services required.
A few bicyclists won’t improve revenue sufficient to deal with these issues.