Kyle Christopher’s position as tourism director for Batesville didn’t exist until almost two years ago. This year, the city won a state award in the category.
The city received the Community Tourism Development Award on March 13 in West Memphis at the 44th annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
That’s especially gratifying for Christopher, who was hired July 2016 as the city’s first tourism director.
“Multiple groups in Batesville really embraced the idea of tourism and development, so we were very excited [about the award],” Christopher said. “We were nominated in several categories.”
The Henry Award was presented to the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Batesville and the city of Batesville for their combined efforts to highlight and promote the area.
Henry Awards are given to individuals and organizations that have made “important contributions to the state’s tourism industry in the preceding year,” according to a press release from the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Every community in Arkansas was represented, big to small,” Christopher said, adding that Batesville’s population is about 10,400. “There were so many different good things happening in Batesville that they bunched us all together. We’re on the same team anyway,” he said.
“Batesville is so unique. … We don’t have that one thing we hang our hat on,” he said. “That’s a blessing and a curse. It’s not, ‘Come to the river; we’re all river people here.’ Lyon College is a great thing … sports and athletics. Youth sports facilities are fantastic, especially with the addition of the new community center.”
The Batesville Community Center & Aquatic Park was completed in June 2017, which is a feather in the city’s cap.
Batesville Parks & Recreation Director Jeff Owens reported to Christopher that more than 185,000 people came to the community center in 2017.
Christopher’s favorite attraction is outdoor recreation, “climbing and hiking and all that good stuff,” he said. He particularly mentioned Jamestown Crag as a popular resource for the area, as well as the White River and Polk Bayou.
“Our landscape is very diverse,” he said.
In the fall, the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce sponsors the White River Water Carnival, the largest community event in the city, Christopher said.
“This will be the 75th year; there’s lots of tradition in that. It’s evolved over time. There are water activities … entertainment, area vendors, food trucks, the Arkansas State BBQ Championship, a parade” and more, he said.
The chamber also leads Impact Independence County, a community-development impact program created in 2015. A major part of that was hiring Christopher as the tourism director.
He said the chamber conducted a survey of city and county residents to find out what’s important to them, and 1,200 responses were received.
“That’s how Impact Independence County originated,” he said. “The impact plan was built from those responses.”
Four topics rose to the top, he said: education, economic development, tourism and healthy living/well-being. A committee, made up of residents “from all walks of life,” was formed to represent each category, Christopher said.
“Once all those came to light, a committee from all walks of life … was brought together to get a list of goals to improve each of those categories,” he said. “Since [the impact plan has] been published, we’ve been knocking off those goals one by one.”
A wayfinding program was designed, he said, and the first four wayfinding signs will be installed by summer.
“[The sign program] will take in all of the county, but it will start in the heart of Batesville, and they’re going to point toward different destinations, like the visitor center and the hospital, community center,” he said. “Batesville will really be the first city in this region of the state to take on a wayfinding program like that.”
“All attractions and all necessary destinations will be marked by that wayfinding system. The goal is to make travel easier for guests,” he said, as well as pull travelers off the main highway.”
In January 2017, the city secured a long-term funding source for tourism, a 3 percent Advertising and Promotion tax on restaurants and lodging. The tourism committee requested the tax, and the City Council approved the funding.
Christopher said the city has a new tourism brand — the tag line is “Experience Independence,” referring to Independence County.
According to the 2017 Arkansas Tourism Economic Impact report created by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, total travel expenditures in Independence County were up by $5.1 million in 2017 compared to the previous year, bringing travel expenditures to $50.7 million for 2017.
Batesville also had 527 travel-generated jobs for last year.
Shannon Haney, Main Street Batesville executive director, said, “Our nomination was kind of about the renewal of downtown as a whole.”
Main Street Batesville was nominated for its streetscape work and renovations. She said the streetscape, which had been underway for three years, was completed last year.
“We completely redesigned [Main Street]. It’s got a serpentine path that slows people down. … It really makes the street beautiful,” she said. Diagonal parking was added, too.
The first phase of Maxfield Park, which connects Main Street to Polk Bayou, is complete, Haney said. The park includes an original sculpture, fountain and meditation garden. The gateway to the park is made of native stone, which is a hallmark of downtown, Haney said, and makes the park blend in.
“It feels like the park has always been there,” she said. “All these improvement projects brought attention and excitement back downtown. I think it’s made all the difference.
“As little as four or five years ago, our downtown was not in a good place. There are a lot of businesses moving in, and it went from dead to hard to find a parking spot some days.”
She said the award isn’t just confirmation of the work Main Street Batesville has done.
“There are very few things that happen in Batesville that aren’t a cooperative effort,” she said.
Christopher said although the award is gratifying, more good work is yet to come.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.