Anyone here have any experience with this? I recall on my only visit to Jolly Old England a decade ago the delight in going into a London newsstand to pickup a copy of "each railfan publication you might have" and coming out with a stack of reading material for the plane ride home. I noted today a government projection for a 22 percent increase in foreign travelers to the U.S. between now and 2006 and started thinking how we could capture some of the European railfan market. (After all, we really dig our trains--but they really, really LOVE them!). jim

http://nctrans.org
Wrinnbo@aol.com

Jim
Portland now has a direct flight to Germany, and already we have booked a German film crew for this fall at SVRR, and this week a couple of German freelance travel writers were in the area. They were running behind and didn't get a chance to stop at the railroad, but I spend nearly an hour with them at a local cafe talking up narrow gauge steam, and our simple little Sumpter Valley operation.
Ron

http://www.svry.com
ronbrin@eoni.com

I have been made very welcome at steam railways in the UK and down under by trying not to be the typical ugly American foamer. Whenever possible I reciprocate as best I can. It has been a losing battle to try to get ticket / gift shop people to ask visitors if they are involved in a preserved railway so it has been pretty much a matter of either networking through friends in common, or somebody volunteering information during a visit.

Certainly the World Wide Web is just that anymore and taking a fresh look from a foreigners POV at your web site may well be in order. Linking to AMTRAK or other public transit to bring visitors from civilized countries where public transport is common to your place is a great idea. Links to other rail and industrial heritage sites within reasonable proximity might tip the balance as to whether to go to your region or another. Joint marketing with them, transit and lodging providers, etc might also be convenient for somebody trying to make travel arrangements from far away with very little to work from. Local information about such things is another plus.

For example, Ffestiniog operates its own travel agency and knows much more about British travel than I do. I paid them no more than I would have paid AAA and got a better informed advisor to make the best possible arrangements.

BTW, the above presupposes English speakers. Furnishing information on the web in other languages is basic if you wish to target other such markets.

There may also be a "foreign desk" at the local / regional / state visitors bureau already marketing your area in other countries. A well designed brochure appealing to people from other countries should be a welcome addition to their packets.

Dave

irondave@bellsouth.net

My daughter left this week for a trip to the UK. One thing that struck us all was how the websites for hotels and general tourism in the UK all had links to information on local railways and industrial heritage sites.

I think we can only dream of such coverage in the general press, although tourist railroads may want to point this out to their local hotels and chamber of commerce, and emphasize the need for similiar information being available to tourists coming here from Europe. The exchange rate between the Euro, the British pound, and the American dollar make coming the USA a very attractive option at this time.

Most international railway websites shun the USA as being little more than a collection of "steam zoos", but there is no shortage of information on tourist railways and museums in the USA on the internet if they will look for it.

While riding a special at the Texas State Railroad a few years ago, we rode with a train driver (engineer) from Switzerland. He gave my son a postcard, and took a look at a French version of "Surviving World Steam Locomotives" I was developing for a publisher in France. (He declared it "very good.")

I also understand the museum at Long Leaf has recieved visitors from France, who come to Louisiana for the Acadian culture.

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

> Anyone here have any experience with this? I
> recall on my only visit to Jolly Old England
> a decade ago the delight in going into a
> London newsstand to pickup a copy of
> "each railfan publication you might
> have" and coming out with a stack of
> reading material for the plane ride home. I
> noted today a government projection for a 22
> percent increase in foreign travelers to the
> U.S. between now and 2006 and started
> thinking how we could capture some of the
> European railfan market. (After all, we
> really dig our trains--but they really,
> really LOVE them!). jim


Surviving World Steam Locomotives
james1@pernet.net

By virtue of our collection of European trams (now totals 6), National Capital Trolley Museum has attracted its share of European fans. We do not market to these guests, they seem to find us.

I represent our Museum on the local Visitors Bureau. The Bureau offers many opportunities to market the Museum beyond what we can fund on our own. The Bureau charges modest dues and the payback is worth the expense on our limited budget. Your local Bureau (or destination marketing organization) is the best bet to reach and international market.

What is helpful is the fact that we are easily accessible by public transportation via Metro and the local bus service. And the Museum is not far from downtown. Our international visitors find this helpful to reach us. I recognize that most museums are not that fortunate. We include a hot link from our website to the local public transportation web page.

Wesley



National Capital Trolley Museum

Couple of weeks ago, a family from Australia asked if they could see a couple of steam engines at the Western Railway Museum which are in a closed car barn.

I took time to show them the engines and a couple of other cars including the mandatory Melbourne W-2 that we have.

They were delightful and that little extra will I am sure pay difidends for other travelers.

Foreign language brochures are something that we should be doing more on. But I have never seen anything at all on this at any volunteer museum I have visited. Germans love to travel.

Here at the Maritime Park, our German brochure is always flying off the rack. Something, anything in their own language is always appreciated by Europeans and Other travelers.

ted_miles@nps.gov

> Couple of weeks ago, a family from Australia
> asked if they could see a couple of steam
> engines at the Western Railway Museum which
> are in a closed car barn.

> I took time to show them the engines and a
> couple of other cars including the mandatory
> Melbourne W-2 that we have.

> They were delightful and that little extra
> will I am sure pay difidends for other
> travelers.

> Foreign language brochures are something
> that we should be doing more on. But I have
> never seen anything at all on this at any
> volunteer museum I have visited. Germans
> love to travel.

> Here at the Maritime Park, our German
> brochure is always flying off the rack.
> Something, anything in their own language is
> always appreciated by Europeans and Other
> travelers.

Another good way to spread the word among our overseas brothers (and sisters too) is to form a partnership with a railroad museum or tourist operation in the country you are targeting. Offer reciprocal benefits for members and extend this to friends who travel with them. You will get a huge return in word of mouth advertising. A prime target would be a group that runs or has preserved a former US steamer - Keithly and Worth Valley comes to mind as do many operations on the continent that roster former GI locos. There is even a Climax and an Alco articulated in New Zealand. This list goes on. We have tried this at Squamish and it has returned many benefits to the Heritage Park. As well as preservation enthusiasts, we have had visits from several overseas professional railroad organizations that we never knew existed. They had heard about us from fans in thier country and visited our web site and subsequently visited our site. We have not ranslated our web site into other languages as yet, but it is something that has proven benefits. Visitors from afar typically spend more money during thier stop over than do the locals. Don't miss out on this and stock your gift shop with some local non-railroad literature in other languages. If these visitors have a positive experience they will be sure to send thier friends.


http://www.wcra.org
gandmferguson@shaw.ca

At IRM we frequently receive visitors from overseas. In 2000 a German video crew shot quite a lot of footage and they were back in January of 2001 to film the introductory segments--IRM was the featured museum on one of their broadcasts. [I have VHS tapes available, in case anyone is interested--soundtrack is in German but the footage is beautiful!] We were also featured in their magazine. Because I'm fluent in German, I try to be available for any German-speaking tourists whose English is rusty! Last fall visitors came from Australia; earlier in the season we'd had a group from the U.K., and in between there had been individual visitors from various countries. We really need to market ourselves to the American public, too....not just railfans, but the history buffs, those curious about modern archeology, etc.

beast@mc.net

The perceived or real downside to coming to the USA generally at present is the 'Fortress America' approach to bona fide tourists - immigration for Europeans is now easlier in Moscow than Washington - something of a switch since the cold war.
This is not a criticism of your security issues (this post is not intended as a flame) but there are a some horror stories out there regarding treatment at immigration. Any (polite) suggestions?

johnbowers3@compuserve.com