Strategic Development

The Client

A syndicate of eight City Authorities within one State in the USA.

Situation

The State had recently passed casino gaming legislation allowing communities power to grant licenses to approved operators.

Implications

The impact of granting of the licenses created rapid growth in visitor numbers to Cities which had little or no major tourism infrastructure. This put a strain on the local land planning and raised the issue of how best to attract inward investment into the ancillary tourist, lodging and entertainment properties needed to support the casinos.

Needs

The syndicate needed to identify site development opportunities and constraints, assess requirements in terms of increased infrastructure and impact on the environment and categorize the highest and best use of the land based on the market demographics and visitor numbers projected over the following five years.

Solution

PTC over six months worked with the communities individually and within the context of the State's requirements for the long term development of tourism. PTC prepared an analysis of the environmental impact in each City interviewing both sides of the environmental lobby to reach a consensus position, produced evidence of market trends and demands and involved the Casino operators in the process of recognizing the best tourism facilities for each community. PTC then prepared draft development plans with timeline proposals for each community and for the State as a whole. Following consultation, PTC published an Inward Investment Marketing Strategy for each City and the State to be used as a guide for each community when producing individual feasibility studies in response to investor demands.