1.4 Plan Organization

Destination McDowell is organized into five (5) major chapters as outlined below.

1) Background and Purpose 2) Discovery and Analysis 3) Public Engagement and Emerging

Themes 4) Recommendations 5) Implementation CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND & PURPOSE

This chapter includes a description of the plan’s purpose, goals, process, and organization. CHAPTER 2: DISCOVERY & ANALYSIS

A snapshot of the County’s regional setting, demographic trends, and previous planning efforts are presented here. The chapter also includes an inventory and analysis of the many tourism assets found throughout the county which are organized into four (4) major asset types, each interrelated and directly connected to the outdoor tourism economy of McDowell County.

CHAPTER 3: PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT & EMERGING THEMES

The tools used for public engagement during the planning process are described in this chapter, as are the diverse MCTDA partner organizations. The chapter culminates with the results of a community survey and identifies emerging themes that “set the stage” for subsequent infrastructure recommendations. CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter is organized according to the two (2) Tourism Areas as identified through the plan process: 1) County-wide Connections and 2) Main Street Communities. Each Tourism Area consists of separate Focus Areas, which in turn contain specific Projects. This chapter and its recommendations are supported by extensive custom illustrations and design schematics. CHAPTER 5: IMPLEMENTATION

This chapter provides a comprehensive matrix of all infrastructure recommendations, prioritization and implementation strategies, and outline of grant funding sources.

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DISCOVERY & ANALYSIS

This chapter examines the regional context, demographics, and relevant past planning efforts that have occurred in the County. It also provides a recreation-centric asset inventory based on existing resources, and in some cases, planned facilities. This chapter is organized into the following sections:

2.1 REGIONAL CONTEXT 2.2 DEMOGRAPHICS 2.3 PREVIOUS PLANNING EFFORTS 2.4 ASSET INVENTORY