The words of early 20th-century planner Benton MacKaye are central to Civic Tourism. Speaking to city planners, MacKaye said, "The job is not to plan, but to reveal," by which he meant towns should allow what's already there to emerge naturally.

Historically, tourism has suffered from a copycat mentality. But communities need not always look outside for what works, to so-called "best practices." Just because the aquarium worked in Baltimore doesn't mean it will attract tourists to your town.

We've seen more than a few examples where aquariums and other big-ticket items have not lived up to the promises tourism officials made, primarily because the new products have little or nothing to do with the region's history, traditions, and natural landscape.