Abstract:
Heritage tourism, or visiting an area for cultural and natural enrichment, is one of the fastest growing segments of the state's second largest industry, tourism. Using the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area as an example, Wright discusses what is involved in securing a heritage designation. The Blue Ridge area covers twenty-five western North Carolina counties. Other heritage initiatives include ecotourism, such as the North Carolina Birding Trail, and a movement to save the rapidly disappearing heritage of the Southern mill towns, the Southwide Textile Heritage Initiative.