Stay tuned for latest list of recent news.
Archived News
November 20, 2019 (Golocalprov): Lt.
Governor McKee Launches International
Economic Ambassadors Initiative
More
Bob
Billington
and other
locals
attend the
State of the
Union
Address:
WJAR TV -
Channel 10
|
Providence
Journal
Cicilline
Invites
President of
the
Blackstone
Valley
Tourism
Council as
State of the
Union Guest
More
Obama signs
national
park bill
into law
More
|
Main Story
|
Editorial
|
Press Release
|
Senator Jack
Reed's
Website
Read
comments by
Bob
Billington
and official
press
release from
Senator
Reed's
office
More
|
Providence
Journal Op
Ed |
Journal
Story
December 20, 2014:
Providence Journal - Obama Signs National
Parks Bill for Blackstone Valley:
More
Other National Park News:
Main Story |
Editorial
|
Press Release |
Senator Jack Reed's Website
October 18, 2011: WPRI - Blackstone Valley Could Become Park
WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) - Officials from
the National Park Service were in Rhode
Island today to discuss how the Blackstone
River Valley could become the country's next
national park. Congress is considering
making the historic corridor a national
park, which would give the region constant
federal funding and protect its historic
standing. The area is of great importance to
America's Industrial Revolution, as many
mills and factories dotted the valley.
Curators at the historic Slater Mill say it
would be incredibly important for the Valley
to gain that standing as federal money would
keep the area's manufacturing past alive.
Two representatives from the National Park
Service told a conference that sustainable
tourism is the key, and spoke with local
officials to explain how sustainable tourism
can best be implemented.
More
October 18, 2011: Boston
Globe - Federal Officials Visiting Rhode
Island for Event
PAWTUCKET, R.I.—U.S. National Park
Service officials are visiting Rhode Island
to discuss how the federal agency can help
the state develop sustainable tourism. Dean
Reeder and Desmond Lee, who work for the
Office of Sustainable Tourism, are scheduled
to speak at a workshop Tuesday at the
Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in
Pawtucket. The center is part of the
Blackstone Valley National Heritage
Corridor. The Sustainable Tourism
Planning and Development Laboratory is
hosting the workshop. The lab is an
educational and consulting business
sponsored by the Blackstone Valley Tourism
Council. Its mission is to help communities
and others approach tourism with the goals
of creating a cleaner environment, stronger
economy and better quality of life.
More
October 18, 2011: The
Republic - Federal Officials to Participate
in Tourism Workshop at Blackstone Valley
Visitor Center
PAWTUCKET, R.I. — U.S. National Park
Service officials are visiting Rhode Island
to discuss how the federal agency can help
the state develop sustainable tourism. Dean
Reeder and Desmond Lee, who work for the
Office of Sustainable Tourism, are scheduled
to speak at a workshop Tuesday at the
Blackstone Valley Visitor Center in
Pawtucket. The center is part of the
Blackstone Valley National Heritage
Corridor.
More
June 20, 2011: Cash
Prize offered by Sustainable Tourism
Planning and Development Laboratory for
Sustainable Tourism efforts
The Sustainable Tourism
Planning and Development Laboratory is
accepting applications for the 2011 ARISTA,
granted for notable achievement in
Sustainable Tourism.
This recognition comes with a $250 cash
prize in each of three geographic areas:
Rhode Island, New England and USA.
Non-governmental organizations, individuals
or businesses whose tourism development
projects or programs meet the criteria for
Sustainable Tourism are eligible.
More |
Providence Business News
March 6, 2011: Norwich
Bulletin - Tourism
expert: Make Norwich
appealing to residents
first Last
Monday, I drove up to
Pawtucket, R.I., to
interview Robert D.
Billington, president of
the Blackstone Valley
Tourism Council. A Rhode
Island native,
Billington is an
internationally
respected authority on
tourism and its role in
the economic
redevelopment of towns
and cities. Before a
city becomes a tourist
destination, Billington
said, it must first
focus on making itself a
great place to live and
work for those who
already live there. “If
we can make it a good
place for us,”
Billington said, “it
becomes an attractive
place to visitors.”
Billington said
Norwich’s new $3.38
million Downtown
Revitalization Program
is an excellent example
of the kind of
self-investment the city
needs to make if it is
to become attractive to
new businesses, new
residents and visitors.
“You’ve got a tool (the
bond package) we would
die for” is how he put
it.
More
February 17, 2011: Ozgur
Tore - Nominations open
for UNWTO Ulysses Awards
PDF
Nominations
are officially open for
the 2011 UNWTO Ulysses
Awards. The Awards seek
to recognize highly
innovative tourism
projects which have
contributed to tourism
policy, governance, and
other areas, such as the
environment,
socio-economic
development and new
technologies.
More
The NPS Takes a Fresh
Look at the Blackstone
River Valley
In October 2006,
Congress passed
legislation to
reauthorize the John H.
Chafee Blackstone River
Valley National Heritage
Corridor Commission for
an additional five
years. While the
Blackstone River Valley
was designated a
National Heritage
Corridor in perpetuity
by Congress, the federal
management presence will
only exist as long as
the federally created
Corridor Commission
continues to operate.
The reauthorization
legislation also
required the Secretary
of the Interior to
conduct a Special
Resource Study (SRS) to
explore the potential
for a permanent National
Park Service (NPS)
presence in the
Blackstone Valley. A
possible result of the
study could be
Congressional action
creating a new unit of
the National Park System
in the Blackstone
Valley. The SRS, which
is being managed by
staff from the NPS’
Northeast Regional
Office, will focus on
sites and landscape
features that contribute
to the understanding of
the Blackstone Valley as
the birthplace of the
American industrial
revolution.
More
To learn about the
study, including the
five proposed
management options, please
see the June 2010
Blackstone SRS
Newsletter.
Archived News