In this community conversation we brought together the various wellness and heritage components discussed in three community conversations in the Fall 2011. They focused on 1. Brown County's many natural assets, the State Park, Hoosier Forest, lakes and forested landscapes with trails, waterways and outdoor adventure and 2. Its cultural and historic assets, Nashville with 70 historic structures, including the Historic Courthouse and Pioneer Village, with the T.C. Steele, artist galleries and studios, stores with arts and crafts and more.
To be truly well you need a healthy lifestyle and then participate in all those activities that provide enjoyment: family and friends, food, recreation and life-time sports, walking, hiking, swimming, historic sites, arts, art galleries, museums, theaters, stores with local or Indiana products, entertainment, restaurants with local specialties. Community wellness and a rich and inspiring environment will lead to a healthy economy and will benefit those living there as well as visitors to the area.
The consensus reached with the 2011 conversations was that we needed an Inventory of our many Brown County assets. In 2013 with the help of a group of Kelley School of Business students, the League did an "An Assessment and Inventory of Brown County's Rich Heritage: Natural, Historic, Cultural."
The National Trust’s definition of cultural heritage tourism is “traveling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present. It includes historic, cultural and natural resources."
SRI International defines wellness tourism as all travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal well-being. The wellness tourism economy includes all expenditures made by tourists on these types of leisure and business trips, including lodging, food and beverage, activities/excursions, shopping and transport.
"According to the Global Wellness Institute Wellness Tourism is an explosive new travel category that exists at the powerful intersection of two of the world’s largest markets—the US$2-trillion wellness economy and the US$3.2-trillion global tourism industry."
Linking Brown County’s many and varied resources can do more for the local economy than promoting them separately. Brown County can leverage its natural, historic, cultural and human assets to attract tourists to stay for a vacation or a get-away, and at the same time contribute to a quality of life that enhances the Brown County experience.
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