Making the Most of Opportunities

Collaborate: “What one person can do to affect the world is small. We need a lot of collaboration to make it all happen,” declares Billington. Putting minds and efforts together has, indeed, resulted in strong tourism and economic development in the valley. Local businesses, organizations, communities, volunteers, regional and state tourism and planning agencies, and state and federal agencies have all come together to forge a new industry to rebuild the Blackstone River Valley into a thriving area.

Find the Fit between the Community and Tourism: A critical aspect of the Heritage Corridor program is the idea that communities are taking the lead in project development with the state and federal agencies backing them up. This has allowed cities and towns to decide whether and how they want more tourism.

Make Sites and Programs Come Alive: The tourism organizations in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island have made it easier—and more fun—for visitors and local residents to get around and enjoy the attractions of the valley. Cruises through historic waterways on replica riverboats take visitors into the moment, helping them experience an older, slower way of life, work, and transportation.

Focus on Quality and Authenticity: A key to the valley’s success has been working with the authentic resources in place in the corridor. Being selected as a National Heritage Corridor early on created pride and desire among local activists to live up to that honor by approaching all their tourism-related goals with quality in mind.

Preserve and Protect Resources: Protection of historic structures, stone walls, open spaces of important farming landscapes, and the adaptive use of old mills and downtown structures have all ensured that the Blackstone of the future will resemble the Blackstone of today.