Tourism means economic development — requiring the cooperation of both the public and private sector — an international expert on tourism says.

Robert Cleverdon, director of international projects for Tourism Development International, addressed a stake holders meeting of state and local officials at the Union County Museum Thursday morning. Cleverdon’s firm has been retained by the State Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to develop detailed, long-range plans for eight Tourism Product Development Areas designated by the S.C. General Assembly. Union County is part of the North Product Development Area.

Thursday’s meeting involved city and county officials, state officials and local business people in a discussion of the state of tourism in the county including existing tourist sites, those in development and sites planned for the future. The county is hoping to persuade the state to assist local efforts to develop more tourist opportunities.

Cleverdon, who has worked on tourism in 95 countries around the world, said that all too often governments make the mistake of believing tourism is a matter for the private sector. He said tourists represent a temporary increase in a community’s population and like residents they make use of water and sewer systems, roads and other aspects of the public infrastructure.

“When tourists come here they drink water, they use the bathroom, they drive cars and this places demands on the infrastructure,” he said. “So you can’t say that tourism is the responsibility of the private sector.”

In addition to providing infrastructure that can serve both the resident population and the tourists who visit a community, Cleverdon said it is the government’s responsibility to market the entire community.

“You can’t expect a business owner to market the whole county,” he said. “Their job is to market their business. It is the public sector’s job to market the whole county. It the government’s job to manage and facilitate the development of tourism for the benefit of all.”

That benefit includes tax revenue generated by the local stores, motels, restaurants and other businesses patronized by tourists. This is an incentive for government to get involved in promoting and marketing the community to tourists and making the necessary investments to support tourism.

While the public sector must be involved, Cleverdon said the private sector has important role to play in promoting tourism. He said private businesses should “network” with each other to market the community. If, for example, someone is staying at the Inn at Merridun and wants to know if there’s anything to do in Union County, the management could suggest they visit Rose Hill. If someone is visiting Rose Hill and they want to know if there’s anywhere stay overnight or a few days, the staff could recommend the Inn at Merridun.

Union County’s history was discussed with several people present pointing out that Musgrove Mill and Blackstock battlefields (Revolutionary War) and the Cross Keys and Dawkins houses (Civil War) are already attracting tourists to the county. Plans to develop a “historic corridor” linking these sites and others throughout the county was also discussed.

One area that Cleverdon said the county should consider is African-American tourism which he is one of the fastest growing markets in the country. Cleverdon said that many African-Americans are particularly interested in genealogical research and tracing their heritage. He said attracting this market should be part of the county’s future plans.

“This has great potential, it’s a growing market,” he said. “It really should be an important component of future development.”

A public forum will be held at in the USC-Union auditorium on June 16 to solicit comments about tourism in the county and any other subjects people want to discuss.

For more information contact the Tourism Commission at 424-2340 or acole@countyofunion.com.