A zip line across a mine pit.

A climbing wall at an old mining facility.

Helicopter tours above the new Highway 53 bridge.

A region-wide expansion of all-terrain vehicle trails.

With creative thinking and community investment, northeastern Minnesota is on the brink of enormous opportunities to expand tourism and attract new residents to the region, says Megan Christianson, Visit Grand Rapids executive director.

“We are finally at a phase where we have young entrepreneurs moving back to the region who have a lot of good ideas,” said Christianson. “We’re on the cusp of something that’s really good. But we need communities to do some risk taking and invest in (tourism) infrastructure.” 

The future of northeastern Minnesota’s tourism industry is the focus of a major tourism conference, Thursday, April 20, at Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm.

The Northeast Minnesota Tourism Conference covers topics including marketing, social media, web site pointers, planning, partnerships, and ideas aimed at injecting new life into existing tourist attractions.

It’s the first conference of its kind in northeastern Minnesota in a decade, according to organizers. 

“We want to get the point across that tourism has a very big impact in northeastern Minnesota,” said Christianson. “The Iron Range has huge opportunities for tourism. The economic impact of tourism is very diverse for our towns. For some areas, it’s the foundation, but for others, it’s timber, taconite and tourism. “

Minnesota’s leisure and hospitality industry in 2015 in northeast Minnesota recorded more than $913 million in gross sales and employed 17,140, according to Explore Minnesota, a state tourism organization.

Statewide, tourism and travel in 2015 generated $14.4 billion in gross sales and accounted for nearly 260,000 full and part-time jobs.

The conference is hosted by the Minnesota Arrowhead Association, a 93-year-old tourism organization said to be Minnesota’s oldest.

More than 100 tourism representatives, lodging owners and city officials from across northeastern Minnesota are expected to attend. 

“We want some of our lodging operators to be able to see the same kind of workshops that we see at Explore Minnesota each year,” said Pete Schultz, Minnesota Arrowhead Association board chair. “It’s the kind of learning that lodging operators don’t always get to experience.”

Beyond existing tourism experiences, northeastern Minnesota needs to develop some “fun items” for visitors, said Christianson.

That’s where new attractions like zip lines, climbing walls, helicopter tours and expanded ATV trails can be developed, some on abandoned minelands, said Christianson.

Tourism and mining in northeastern Minnesota have for decades successfully co-existed. Tourism and mining remain in a “symbiotic relationship,” said Christianson. 

An example is the Cuyuna County State Recreation Area in Crosby, where abandoned mineland has been turned into one of the nation’s premier mountain bike trail systems. 

Several water-filled mine natural iron ore pits across the Iron Range have been turned into recreational areas for swimming, fishing and scuba diving. Housing and business developments, city parks, campgrounds, disc golf courses, and scenic overlooks, have been developed on other former minelands.  

“People want to be able to come and see and experience mineland reclamation areas,” said Christianson. “We want to be able to reclaim those spaces for tourism economics.” 

As a whole, the conference will provide attendees with education, networking opportunities, and strategic planning advice, said Christianson. 

“It’s a wide variety of topics and it all ties to tourism,” said Christianson. 

Tourism Conference

What: Northeast Minnesota Tourism Conference

When: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, April 20, 2017

Where: Minnesota Discovery Center, Chisholm

Who: Northeast Minnesota tourism industry members

Why: To highlight the important of tourism in the region

Information/registration: bit.ly/2lt5QNj