Registration & Coffee
Exhibit Area Open

Opening Plenary
Creating memorable visitor experiences by capitalizing on the unique sense of place is, simply put, what heritage tourism is all about. While New Jersey is uniquely rich in its diversity of historic resources, we continue to struggle with realizing our full potential. Explore the concept of heritage tourism and how it differs from commonly recognized forms of tourism development. Learn how meaningful interpretation and quality experiences create the sense of place that is key to attracting and satisfying visitors. In addition to strengthening the economy, tourism, approached thoughtfully and with a positive civic involvement program, can help protect historic neighborhoods, save the environment, and preserve cultures.

Inroductions: Judi London, President, South Jersey Tourism Corporation

Featured Presenters:
Cheryl Hargrove, President, The HTC Group, Asheville, North Carolina;
Dan Shilling, Curator for the Humanities, Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott, Arizona

Location: Center for the Arts

Morning Panel: Making the Connections
Identifying trends in tourism, knowing who the visitor is, what they want to visit, knowing how long they stay and how much they are willing to spend for a quality experience is an important first step to st ructuring your initiative. But what role can others play? With the greatest number of heritage areas in the nation, Pennsylvania has embraced heritage tourism as an economic engine. State leadership has been pivotal in building heritage alliances. This panel will explore the possibilities when economic return, strong leadership and quality product development come together.

Moderator: Curtis Bashaw, Co-Managing Partner, Cape Advisors (former Executive Director, NJ CRDA, and organizer of the Summit on the Shore)

Speakers:
Brian J. Tyrrell , Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Business Studies, Richard Stockton College
Lenwood Sloan, Director of Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Pennsylvania Tourism Office
Patricia Washington , Vice President, Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation

Location: Center for the Arts

Lunch (Exhibits open)

Field Workshops
Each field workshop is limited to 26 participants and is available on a first come first served basis (both registration form and payment must be received to enable field workshop participation).

Underground Railroad
Southern New Jersey has long been a place where much important African American history has happened. Due to its role in the long struggle to end slavery in America, some historians have labeled the region the “Cradle of Emancipation.” This tour will describe South Jersey’s participation in the “ Underground Railroad,” the secret network that ferried escaped slaves to freedom before the Civil War. Black communities had emerged early in southern New Jersey, such as Lawnside, Fettersville, Timbuctoo, and Springtown, and their existence helped make the freedom network in New Jersey viable. The tour will feature the Peter Mott house in Lawnside, which is one of the few surviving stops of this network that was operated by an African American. Actor Clinton Higgs will portray Peter Mott, and Millicent Sparks will reprise her portrayal of Harriet Tubman.

Guide: Giles Wright , Director of the Afro-American History Program, New Jersey Historical Commission. This workshop is sponsored by the South Jersey Tourism Corporation.

1:30 - 3:45 pm

Enhancing the Visitor Experience: A Toolkit for Survival
By conveying important themes, facts, and interpretations to visitors, heritage tourism offers a unique glimpse into the past. Visitors remember the experiences offered by historic resources, providing one of the products of the heritage tourism industry. By discussing interpretation, experiential items, visitor participation, printed materials, themes, linkages, events, and other topics, this panel will explore strategies for developing successful products. Improve visitor satisfaction while advancing the resources’ economic sustainability.

Moderators:
John Seitter, Director of Product Development, South Jersey Tourism Corporation
Jef Buehler, Main Street New Jersey, NJ Dept of Community Affairs

Speakers:
Andi Coyle, consultant for Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation
Renee Epps, Executive Vice President, Tenement Museum
Anne Salvatore, Executive Director, Cold Spring Village
Darlene Scocca, Mayor of Burlington City, NJ and Tourism Director for Burlington County
David W. Young, Executive Director of Cliveden, a National Trust Historic Site

Location: Campus Center

Ready, Set, Visit: Is your historic site ready for visitors?
Being visitor-ready means more than offering a guided tour. From bathrooms to brochures, find out how to meet and exceed visitors’ needs and expectations. A panel of experienced professionals will show you how to provide a positive and memorable tourist experience.

Moderator: Margaret O’Neil, Regional Interpretive Specialist, NJ Division of Parks & Forestry

Speakers:
Philip Correll, Manager, New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail, National Parks Service
Marian Deal Smith, Owner and President of Alternative Tours
Mark Texel, Director of Historic Sites, Morris County Park Commission
B. Michael Zuckerman, Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts

Location: Campus Center

If You Promote It, Will They Come?
What will it take to generate more visitors? What is the right marketing mix to maximize results? Attend this session to find out! A panel of marketing and heritage tourism professionals will ask the questions needed to determine what marketing solutions are right for you. Marketing basics, terminology, and trends will be covered as well as best practices and real examples of what is currently working for heritage tourism organizations.

Moderator: Bill Gehrman, Group Tour Development, South Jersey Tourism Corporation

Speakers:
Leslie Bensley, Executive Director, Morris County Visitors Center
(Additional speakers to be announced)

Location: Campus Center

Virtuous Circle or Vicious Circle: Making the Case for Heritage Tourism
New Jersey’s historic sites and landscapes are unique places that help us recall our past and inspire our future. This workshop will focus on the importance of investing in historic, cultural and open space preservation to reap the benefits heritage tourism can produce as a significant engine for economic growth. The panelists will discuss the importance of making the case for investing in heritage tourism by measuring the returns on these investments. We will focus on the sectors of the economy that rely on the heritage tourist: hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, cultural institutions, and other local retail and service businesses.

Moderator: Brian Tyrrell, Assistant Professor of Business Studies, Richard Stockton State College

Speakers:
Daniel Fesenmaier, Professor & Director of the National Lab for Tourism and eCommerce,
Temple University
Ron Emrich, Executive Director, Preservation New Jersey
Judi London, President, South Jersey Tourism Corporation

Location: Paul Robeson Library

Wrap Up Panel: The Future of Heritage Tourism in New Jersey
A panel of New Jersey Legislators and tourism officials will discuss state-wide initiatives in heritage tourism. Presentations will include ways in which the preservation, history and tourism communities can benefit from these new opportunities and how to provide recommendations as plans develop.

Moderator: Barbara Irvine, Executive Director, New Jersey Historic Trust

Speakers: To be announced

Location: Center for the Arts

Closing Reception: Battleship New Jersey
The USS New Jersey completed her final voyage home from Bremerton, Washington to the former Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard, arriving there appropriately enough, on Veteran's Day 1999. The Navy's decision to permanently berth the Battleship in Camden was announced on January 20, 2000. The Battleship New Jersey, our Nation's most decorated battleship, is now a floating museum on the Delaware River, along the Camden Waterfront across from Center City Philadelphia. History comes to life as visitors have the opportunity to experience a guided tour through the Iowa-class ship, one of the largest battleships ever built.

Preservation New Jersey Reception sponsors: