It’s summer and a favorite road trip pastime in my family has always been to look at the license plates of cars while traveling. Can we guess the state where the car is from just by the colors or design of the plate? How far did that car travel to reach us?

Here in the Upper Valley, summer brings many visitors. Some come from neighboring or nearby states, which tourism professionals call the “drive market.” Some come from Canada. Some come from much further away, flying into Boston, Burlington or Hartford, Conn., (even Lebanon, thanks to daily air service from Cape Air) and hailing from Europe, or states ‘out west.’

What brings visitors to the Upper Valley is a question that the Upper Valley Business Alliance has been working to answer. It should be an easy answer, right? Tourism has played a part in the Upper Valley economy for a long time. The economies of towns such as Woodstock and Hanover are built on the visitor economy – Woodstock for welcoming visitors to ski in the winter and Hanover for welcoming visitors to Dartmouth College as prospective students, alumni, visiting professors or speakers. There are a great many second homes all over the Upper Valley.

However, when asked “Is the Upper Valley a tourist destination?” many Upper Valley residents will say no. Or when asked why someone from away would visit the Upper Valley specifically for the purposes of being a tourist, without having any ties such as family, or college connections, it becomes tougher to answer. The Upper Valley doesn’t have the same tourist draw as New Hampshire’s Lakes Region or the White Mountains. There is no Funspot, Storyland, or 4,000 footers to climb in the Upper Valley.

The Upper Valley does have many reasons to visit. High quality outdoor recreation such as the Northern Rail Trail and hiking trails. Beautiful lakes from Mascoma to Morey. Mountain biking at Boston Lot in Lebanon. Varied dining options and a robust locally produced food scene. A thriving arts community from live performances and theater to world-class art. The only two National Parks in both New Hampshire and Vermont. And yet, the Upper Valley feels like the best kept secret of the Twin States.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Travel and Tourism, the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region saw 1.4 million visitors in 2023 and $400 million in spending. Statewide, tourism accounts for $5.4 billion to the state. In Vermont, tourism brings in $3 billion annually (figures are not broken down by region), according to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.

Where does that spending go? It supports our shops, restaurants, hotels & inns, gas stations, arts and cultural attractions, farm stands, and campgrounds. It supports many jobs.

The Upper Valley Business Alliance has been participating in a multi-state study with the country’s foremost tourism researchers and Cooperative Extension tourism faculty from the National Extension Tourism Design Team (NETDT). Since 1993, NETDT has supported the continued development of sustainable tourism research, education and outreach within Cooperative Extension in collaboration with land-grant universities, federal agencies and other partners.

The purpose of the study is to identify economic, social and environmental indicators for sustainable tourism, as well as survey residents and visitors to our region to determine how both feel about developing tourism in our area.

Charlie French is the program leader of the Community & Economic Development Department at UNH Cooperative Extension, one of the partnering Extension Universities, along with UVM, University of West Virginia and Penn State.

“Cultivating and managing tourism in rural regions is not just about finding ways to draw revenue from visitors,” French said. ” It is about enhancing the recreational, cultural, historic, and natural amenities of that place, and ultimately, improving the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. They key is to ensure that tourism is cultivated in a way that benefits the people of the region.”

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on tourism in the Upper Valley, New Hampshire and Vermont. Suddenly the rural character of our states was attractive to people in urban areas who were in lock down. Visitors flocked to our states, looking for outdoor experiences where they could safely socially distance. The heavier than typical use to our trails, roads and environmentally sensitive areas suffered while residents began to complain about not finding parking at their favorite local trails or that the porta potties at trailheads were overflowing. However, local businesses welcomed the additional spending during a time when their revenues were significantly reduced.

A key component of the study, entitled “Agriculture Economic and Rural Communities Program Area Priority of Rural Economic Development,” is to determine where the balance between sustainable tourism and “over tourism” lies. Whereas furthering developing tourism in our region can be advantageous to creating more economic development and bringing more spending to the Upper Valley, there is a clear desire not to create such demand that residents are not able to enjoy the amenities of where we live.

“One of the most common things we hear in our community and economic development work at UNH Extension is that communities want more data and research to inform local decision making,” said Jada Lindblom, a field specialist, UNH Cooperative Extension Community & Economic Development, who is serving as project lead in New Hampshire. “Sometimes, useful data does exist, but can be difficult to access, interpret, or aggregate. This project applies a wide variety of data as indicators to help regional partners like the Upper Valley Business Alliance understand what a destination region needs to be economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable and successful.”

The study takes place over three years and is currently in year two. The first year was dedicated to data gathering. Researchers at the University of West Virginia worked with Upper Valley Business Alliance to determine the number and location of hotels, inns, restaurants, and places of interest where visitors would want to visit – museums, cultural sites, breweries/wineries/distilleries, farm stands, recreation spots, and natural areas – all throughout the Upper Valley. The researchers have mapped these assets into a GIS database. A survey of visitors was also conducted to gather their impressions of visiting the Upper Valley. Next year, the researchers will coordinate a series of “First Impression” visits with the local partners in the three study areas of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Upper Valley. The First Impression visits will involve bringing visitors from the two states to the Upper Valley to tour and give their “first impressions” of the number of amenities, service and character of our region.

This year, our task is to gather data from Upper Valley residents of their impressions of tourism in the Upper Valley. This survey will be used to improve policy makers’ understanding of residents’ attitudes and opinions toward tourism in the Upper Valley region, help them determine future tourism development opportunities, and provide civic leaders the opportunity to learn about and respond to public opinions.

The Upper Valley Business Alliance is currently sending out a link to take this survey and we ask anyone currently living in either Grafton or Sullivan County in New Hampshire or Windsor or Orange County in Vermont, please take a moment to provide your thoughts and opinions on tourism within the Upper Valley region. Thank you for participating. https://tinyurl.com/UVBAtourismsurvey.