Lubbock Left

With all the talk about the Visitor Center these days, I find myself brainstorming other ways to attract overnight visits in Lubbock.

First, how about some more brochure racks? Check out River Smith’s:

River Smith’s is right next to at least 5 hotels as well as the intersection US84 and the Marsha Sharp Freeway. It’s an excellent place to leave information about what to do in Lubbock.

So, why not put similar brochures in all the nearby businesses? There are several other restaurants, a Wal-Mart, and a strip mall nearby.

How about similar brochure racks in all the businesses that surround Texas Tech? How about in all the nicest restaurants in town?

The cost of these racks is negligible, and putting them where visitors will already be makes good sense to me.

Second, we need a world-class Lubbock tourism website, and one that is optimized for search engines and linked to from already prominent Lubbock websites. This one seems like a no-brainer to me, and is also an inexpensive and maintainable option.

The initial website design could really involve the community as well. Hold a contest for the best-designed page, with the prize being a permanent link to the winner, or have web design classes at Tech take a shot at it. Ask for content suggestions and pictures from Lubbock citizens. Let existing businesses contribute content in exchange for links.

Third, let’s take Councilman Klein’s suggestion and put kiosks in popular Lubbock destinations like The Mall. They could be interactive, and feature attraction tours by type. Like the website and brochure racks, this option is inexpensive and effective because it targets Lubbock visitors where they already are.

Fourth, the City of Lubbock should advertise in other newspapers in Texas and New Mexico. Ruidoso, NM advertises in Lubbock, and I’m sure it helps their visitor traffic. (Also, they have a spiffy, thorough website geared toward tourism — compare to Visit Lubbock’s website.) People in Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio should be marketed to by the City of Lubbock.

Fifth, how about encouraging the nearby small town traffic to Lubbock? Residents of the surrounding communities already visit Lubbock, so why not put some extra effort into advertising to them so that they visit a little bit more?

I think there are many ways to promote Lubbock, from the obvious to the very creative, and many of them make more sense than the current Visitor Center project.