Community Research Results Unveiled

When "normal" suddenly changes, it is often an opportunity to review what is being done, what needs to change and how to change it. The same can be said of when a community is going through an identity crisis.For years, many travelers thought Sidney as synonymous with Cabela's. With that changing, residents and community leaders are facing the question of "What next?"

In 2017, Cheyenne County Tourism Director Heather Hausmann was awarded a grant that was used to research Sidney/Cheyenne County and four other Nebraska communities. BlueSoHo was contracted to conduct field surveys of Scottsbluff, Broken Bow, North Platte and Grand Island.

"We uncovered a lot of data," said Courtney Heesacker, Creative Account Director for BlueSoHo. She called called the data very enlightening.

Heesacker and Will Schwark, Associate Creative Director for BlueSoHo, led a discussion Tuesday on the findings. The public meeting addressed community size, proximity to major highways and interstates, methods of promoting each community dynamics of each community. Four teams were sent to the four different communities. The research includes how many hotels are in each community, who is staying at the hotels and why, what age groups are traveling through the communities and from what direction.

The Scottsbluff survey shows the average age of 48-63, 70 percent of visitors come from out of state, primarily Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Wyoming. Attractions include Scottsbluff National Monument, Legacy of the Plains Museum, and local events. Research also shows that in the Scottsbluff and Gering community, the Chamber, Visitors Center, city and local businesses work together to promote tourism.

North Platte, about two hours east of Sidney, records mostly older travelers with an increase in millennial families. North Platte draws many of its visitors from Colorado and eastern Nebraska with a large number coming from surrounding communities.

Broken Bow is a smaller community, and observed as tight-knit. Broken Bow is part of the scenic byway. Another attraction is the visitors center is part of the museum. Researchers also noted significant unity between the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitors Center.

"Their community size knights them together very closely," said Heesacker.

Research shows their fairgrounds are busy nearly every summer weekend, and downtown revitalization was done by grants and volunteerism.

Grand Island is the biggest community in the survey, and is in the third stage of an all-inclusive growth campaign. It is an economy-driven tourism in Grand Island with the Visitors Bureau, Chamber, Economic Development and city work closely together. Their emphasis is on creating destination events.

Preliminary observations show that the No. 1 driver of community success is unity of departments and organizations. Successful communities aggressively pursue grant funding for community and economic development. Most economically successful events are initiated and managed by collaborations between organizations and local businesses.

"I think every community, no matter who you are, needs to decide who you are," said Heesacker.

Schwark said for Cheyenne County to be successful, it needs to be grounded and develop a marketing plan.

Heesacker and Schwark said with the research completed, the next step is for Cheyenne County to develop a marketing plan.

"There is so much we haven't even tapped into. We hope that this can be a spring board or launch pad for further conversation," Heesacker said.