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| The Trail of the Ancients traverses a portion of the American Southwest that, once experienced, cannot easily be forgotten. The Scenic Byway provides a centerline for exploring the Four Corners area. It passes through the four states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, which touch each other at Four Corners Monument. Within the geographic circle defined by Trail of the Ancients lie six National Parks, thirteen National Monuments, numerous Wilderness Areas, and twenty-four Native American tribes. Great diversity characterizes present-day Native American communities along Trail of the Ancients. Along the Trail one finds a blend of pre-historic sites and early Mormon settlements and farms, intertwined in a landscape of canyons, mesas, river gorges and precious fertile bottomland. The tapestry of Native American, Spanish and European cultures has stimulated a multi-cultural collage of food, music, religion, architecture, ceremony, and commerce in the Four Corners Area. It is common for visitors to note the one-of-a-kind quality of this remote region, but faced with energy development, water scarcity, climate change, and future growth, local stewardship of area resources becomes more vital than ever. | |
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Solimar International and National Geographic Maps’ objective in the region is to promote sustainable tourism that links social and conservation goals to market-based solutions that build local economies, strengthen communities and foster locally grown stewardship of natural resources. Goals include:
- Promote the types of tourism that best sustain the cultural and natural attributes of the region;
- Better inform local residents about the character of their locales and communities, including cultural, historic, and environmental assets, and how protecting and enhancing them can provide economic benefits;
- Inform visitors about the cultural, historic, and environmental assets of the region, the supportive roles they can play while visiting, and how their decisions and actions can help protect and support local assets; and
- Provide this information in an attractive format, superior in editorial quality to the advertising-driven or directory-style brochures generally available at tourist destinations.
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Solimar International and the National Geographic Map Division will work on a multi-party partnership project being organized through The Trail of the Ancients Scenic By Way or, with funding support from the United States Bureau of Land Management/National Landscape Conservation System, to develop a Geotourism Website and printed MapGuide for The Trail of the Ancients in the Four Corners region. The process will help foster local knowledge, excitement and support for the distinctive characteristics and tourism attractions of the Trail of the Ancients. In addition to this, we will guide local change agents to:
- Implement an outreach and promotional campaign related to the development of the MapGuide; and
- Foster the wise stewardship of the Trail of the Ancients tourism assets in the future.
This combined approach will help to educate local residents about their significant tourism resources, help to stimulate local business growth through increased tourism, and work in synergy with the tourism promotional efforts in the Four Corners Area to market and position in this historical, cultural and natural global treasure. |
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OUTCOMES
•Creation of a Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council;
• Development of a paper MapGuide;
• Development of a rich content website with an interactive on line map viewer;
• Development of a public relations campaign through print, media, radio and TV.
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