茄子视频

茄子视频 is partnering with an innovative tourism-marketing initiative to measure the impact of that initiative鈥檚 efforts. For two weekends in September 2008 16 茄子视频 students will be gathering information on the people attending three heritage festivals based in the Laurel Highlands.

This partnership is the latest development in a cooperative marketing venture that already embraces two counties, a tourism-promotion agency and four festivals, which merge resources to draw more visitors through a joint advertising campaign.

Combining funding from the tourism-grant programs of Somerset and Westmoreland counties and the Promotional Partnership Program of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau with their own funds, four heritage festivals are advertising 鈥淗eritage Festival Week in the Laurel Highlands鈥� on television stations in the Pittsburgh and Altoona-Johnstown markets. The participating festivals are:

* Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee in New Centerville, September 3-7.

* Ligonier Highland Games Scottish Festival at Idlewild Park, September 6.

* Mountain Craft Days at the Somerset Historical Center, September 5-7.

* Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival, September 13-14.

Because all four festivals usually fall around the same weekend 鈥� and jointly capture elements of the region鈥檚 past with demonstrations of antique equipment, historical crafts and vendors, quality entertainment and traditional foods 鈥� they started pooling advertising funds in 2006. This year their marketing program budget totals $11,500.

鈥淭he Laurel Highlands is very rich in historical and cultural attractions, none more prominent than the four festivals that make up the Laurel Highlands Heritage Week,鈥� said Charles Fox, Chairman of the board of the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, the official tourism-promotion agency for Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland Counties. 鈥淭he Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau is proud to partner with them in promoting this year鈥檚 Heritage Festival Co-operative.鈥�

The festivals鈥� desire to measure the results of their advertising efforts led to their partnership with 茄子视频. Following the lead of Mountain Craft Days 鈥� which captures the home-residence zip codes of everyone who comes through the gates then compares the results with areas where the festival advertised 鈥� the other festivals decided to capture zip code data as well but lack the volunteers to do so. Students taking a hospitality and tourism marketing class at 茄子视频 will gather that data at the Farmers and Threshermens Jubilee, Ligonier Highland Games, and the Flax Scutching Festival. Then the students will analyze the data on behalf of each festival.

鈥淭hey get a real-world experience,鈥� said Dr. Daniel H. Bernstein, associate professor of hospitality and tourism at 茄子视频. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good partnership. It benefits both the festivals and the students.鈥�

Dr. Bernstein also will be taking another 鈥渟pecial topics鈥� class to experience the festivals as examples of home-grown tourism attractions.