BANGOR, Pa. (WLVT) - Last year, 17 million people visited the Lehigh Valley, and Northampton County's Slate Belt is trying to attract more people to see what it has to offer.
The Slate Belt Heritage Center transformed Bangor’s historic town hall into a house of history.
"We turned it into all the different ethnic groups and the businesses that put the Slate Belt on the map," said secretary Karen Brewer, "and the main business was, hence Slate Belt, the slate quarries."
Brewer said, at one point, Bangor had the second biggest population in the county behind Easton, but after the slate industry declined, the region took a step back.
"We are smack dab in the middle of the Poconos to our north and Easton, Allentown, Bethlehem to our south," said the center's vice president Marc Blau, "and we sit in the middle -- kind of a forgotten stepchild-kind of person, you know?"
It's part of the reason the county and Discover Lehigh Valley are helping the Slate Belt with tourism. They invited local businesses to a workshop at the heritage center Thursday to offer ways to promote and market themselves to a bigger audience.
"I think day and overnight packages are the way to go right now. They certainly have enough going on to support that," said Tina Smith, the county's director of community and economic development. "They could spend a day in Bangor. They could go to Wind Gap and Pen Argyl, Upper Mount Bethel -- there's so much going on."
"We find that when people are here, they're looking not to just stay in those communities, but get out into these smaller neighborhoods and really experience authentic local businesses, and the Slate Belt is a great outlet to do that," added Kaitie Burger, content and communications manager at Discover Lehigh Valley.
A new relocation guide is coming out next month to give new residents and businesses a better idea of what’s in the Lehigh Valley. A campaign called Made Possible in the Lehigh Valley highlights activities and captures hometown pride. Discover Lehigh Valley said it’s thinking of featuring the Slate Belt with its own story.
"We are a small team, so sometimes, we rely on our members and our partners to help tell the stories, too," Burger said. "It really is a two-way street to make sure that we're getting the messages from the businesses, and then, we can kind of funnel them where they need to go."
"We have to send much more information to Discover Lehigh Valley, and if we send it to them, they’ll put it on, and they'll advertise it," Blau said.
"People seem to forget oftentimes about the little municipalities within the county, which is important to me, because I live in one," Smith said, "and I think we're shadowed often by Easton, Allentown, Bethlehem, which are great, but it's nice to pay attention to the rest of the county as well."
Those who live and work in the Slate Belt said it's a region that's been through tough times, but it's seeing signs of rebirth.
"Minsi Lake is getting filled again, so that'll be a new regional attraction," said Stephen Reider, director of Slate Belt Rising, a revitalization program for the boroughs of Bangor, Pen Argy, Portland and Wind Gap. "Anglers, kayakers, even people -- just passive recreation, picnic lunches, you name it -- you could do it over there."
"The countryside around Bangor is beautiful, and the historic and ethnic culture that we try to enhance here at the heritage center that is all over the place here," Blau said. "You've just got to come up and see it."
"Very nice views, a lot of outdoor recreational opportunities," Reider added. "We have restaurants and other businesses, the wineries, breweries, you name it. We still have it in the Slate Belt."
One of the challenges the region faces is giving visitors places to stay overnight.
"Right now, if you wanted to stay at a hotel, you'd have to go up to Stroudsburg or to Easton, because we're pretty much central to those two locations," Reider said. "I think that's something that would be looked into into the future if there are more experiences [and] more activities to do."
"We would love to get elevated to the same level as the Lehigh Valley gets elevated. If we're part of the whole Discover Lehigh Valley, then we should be equal partners," Blau said.
Discover Lehigh Valley said it encourages people to become certified tourism ambassadors (CTA). They take a four-hour class offered once a month to join a national network of resources that will help drive tourism. The program will launch locally in August.