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Matagorda Community Gets Involved In Promoting Tourism
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The Matagorda County Economic Development Corp. will look to the Matagorda/Bay City United volunteer committee to help involve the community in a brainstorming and planning process for the county’s tourism efforts now that its five-year commitment with Geiger and Associates has concluded.
 “We need as a community to encourage entrepreneurism. We need to kick it up a notch,” Mitch Thames, president of the Bay City Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture and a member of the MCEDC board said during the Nov. 30 MCEDC meeting.
“We need to support some other tours, other activity, some other commercial ventures that folks can do.”
Giving tourists something to do while they are visiting the beach is an important next step, Thames said.
“We need to (think) of our beaches and have something there for (tourists) to physically rent and do. Instead of them just going out there and sitting on the sand for 30 minutes and saying, ‘Ok, is this it?’”
“Geiger has been successful for five years…We wouldn’t be where we are today tourism wise. They’ve given us a great boost,” Bay City Mayor Richard Knapik said.
“I think we’ve reached a point in time where we need to step up and say let’s fund our own local efforts.”
Feedback from 10 writers tours organized by Geiger and Associates gave MCEDC insight on what the county should do to improve tourism opportunities, Thames said.
A call to community members to meet and help Matagorda/Bay City United develop a new plan for the county is slated for early next year, Thames said. |
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By
Kenya @
Tuesday, December 11, 2007 2:27 AM |
Roi Lee Repp is an integral part of the changing face of tourism in Matagorda County, Texas -- especially eco-tourism. The co-owner of Freebird Canoe and Kayak Rentals has brought a fun and healthy sport to her hometown, and is part of a tourism focus that is in the process of transforming this sleepy area of the Texas coast between Houston and Corpus Christi into a nature tourism hot spot.
But as important as Roi Lee and entrepreneurs like her are to this area's growing tourism economy, she readily admits her business has also transformed her life in just as a dramatic a way. The fit and trim 50-something had spent years working as a waitress before indulging her entrepreneurial instincts and starting her own company. The gregarious Roi Lee always loved working with the public, but was seeking a small business opportunity that would give her more freedom and financial independence. After attending tourism seminars hosted by the Matagorda County Tourism Consortium, Repp knew she was on to something.
Roi Lee liked the fact that kayaking was an activity that families could enjoy together, something she felt was lacking Matagorda County. It didn't hurt that a variety of paddling experiences that would appeal to novices as well as experienced canoers and kayakers was right in her back yard.
Floating down the Colorado River, paddlers can enjoy scenic vistas of rice farms and cattle grazing. Along Caney Creek's tree-lined banks you're likely to spot all kind of woodland bird species (Matagorda is one of the country's premier bird watching spots). Those looking for peace and solitude will enjoy paddling through the county's salt water marshes, rich with plant and wildlife.
Experienced paddlers create their own paddling adventure by taking advantage of the fact that many of Matagorda County's marshes, creeks, rivers and bays have been thoroughly mapped out. Novices might instead opt for a leisurely float down the Colorado River. Either way Roi Lee and partner Wayne Armstrong have the equipment and guide skills you'll need.
By:Cheri Sicard and Mitch Mandell |
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