Chinese interested in Elko tourism
By DAVE WOODSON, Free Press Staff Writer
Sunday, February 27, 2005 1:02 PM PST
ELKO - Nevada Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said the word is out in China that Elko is the heartland of Cowboy Country.
She said as part of her tourism outreach to the People's Republic of China she recently spent two hours on an Internet chat room with that country's residents.
"Really, the most questions I was getting was about cowboys and Indians and those kinds of things, and I was telling them about Elko and Winnemucca," Hunt recalled.
She said after the chat was over she asked the producer about how many people might have been in the chat room.
"He said 'We are just getting started - we only had about 60 million,'" Hunt said.
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That drew a burst of laughter from the crowd at the Sherman Station Friday afternoon where Hunt spoke at the invitation of the Elko Area Chamber of Commerce.
Hunt said the potential for tourism exists in China where more than 300 million people qualify by American standards as millionaires, and have the disposable income to travel to the United States as tourists.
She said the Chinese tend to travel in droves, "but that is OK because it will fill up our hotel rooms."
"These people love cowboys," Hunt added.
She said she is promoting Nevada as the Western Gateway to the United States.
Her story was a centerpiece to a pitch that Elko and Nevada need to look to globalization for the future.
"You need to prepare your community for the future because it is going to be a global future," Hunt said.
Hunt, who chairs both the Nevada Commission on Economic Development and the Nevada Commission on Tourism, said she believed Elko would play a role in that future.
"Nevada is a tourism destination state," Hunt said. "We have something for everyone."
She said the pioneering entrepreneurial attitude is one of the things that makes Nevada different from other states.
"Gazing into my crystal ball, I see us being a major player in the global economy more than any other state in the United States," she said.
Hunt said Nevada is already unique because it is the first state to have opened a tourism office in China.
She said in Kenny Guinn's budget there is $1 million that will be earmarked for rural Nevada economic development and tourism.
"That is going to give us a much bigger budget to help you help yourself," Hunt said. "Now that the governor is supporting it, we have to make sure the Legislature supports it, because it is very critical for what we will be able to do for you."
She also said there is a projected $200,000 for economic development or tourism- related infrastructure for rural Nevada.
Hunt said her office is not only trying to lure business to Nevada from other states but also internationally.
"I can see great companies wanting to move here," she said.
She said part of her relocation pitch could be, "Your company might do really well in Elko.
"Then at that point take it international," she continued.
Hunt said one of the keys to attracting business to rural areas is the availability of reliable high-speed Internet communications.
While Elko may not feel the pinch as much as Reno, Hunt acknowledged that Indian gaming was having an economic impact, and the business noose would probably even tighten more.
"You can't just sit around and whine," she said.
Hunt indicated that a proactive approach on a global scale could bring northern Nevada to an economic climate in which Indian gaming would retreat to just a nuisance.
She said Nevada needed to be as business friendly as possible.
Hunt said the steps Elko needs to take to enter the global tourism and business market are to assess its strengths and determine how the community wants to see growth.
With that done, Hunt said the state can then contribute to the future of the community.
"We will identify and try and follow leads and bring them to you," she said.
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