Community input was a first step that the Wimberley tourism committee made towards a five-year tourism plan.
Representative of Wimberley Arts and Culture Stan Allen said that by next year the committee will have a plan. The first meeting on Monday included discussion of budgeting, surveys and infrastructure.
“We want to know how they feel about tourism and what they think our plans might be, but of course we want to include merchants. Being a small town we have to consider if we can handle a large influx of tourists,”
–Stan Allen, Representative of Wimberley Arts and Culture
Allen said the first step for the committee is to choose goals, then begin a plan to achieve those goals. The committee decided to create a survey to help guide tourism goals.
“We want to know how they feel about tourism and what they think our plans might be, but of course we want to include merchants. Being a small town we have to consider if we can handle a large influx of tourists,” Allen said.
Next meeting, Allen said there will be a set of draft questions for the survey and ideas of how to facilitate the survey. Wimberley will need to improve infrastructure and decide on a good marketing angle, Allen said.
“We need to build parking more efficiently, build sidewalks where they don’t exist. We want tourists to feel comfortable. We have a beautiful little town on the Blanco (River) and Cypress Creek, but we’re not going to advertise ourselves as a water destination. We can advertise ourselves as a quaint little town with lots of potential,” Allen said.
As an art gallery owner, Allen said Wimberley has a large art community that needs to prioritize the developing music scene.
“Wimberley is a pretty well-known art spot, but we have a lot of music talent so we need to make venues so people can find good music when they come into town. We have the talent, but it’s a matter of organizing it,” Allen said.
The base cash reserve for tourism advertising and other tourism goals will be from the leftover hotel occupancy tax.
