Future of Route 66 will be discussed at two-day event

A invitation-only gathering called “Route 66: The Road Ahead” is scheduled for Nov. 20-21 near Cars Land in Anaheim, Calif., will serve as a discussion of future opportunities for Mother Road preservationists and businesses in the wake of the 2012 Route 66 Economic Impact Study.

Route 66 The Road Ahead coverThe meeting is being organized by the World Monuments Fund with help from American Express. It’s invitation-only, but you can register your interest in attending by emailing route66@wmf.org as soon as possible.

A pamphlet of “Route 66: The Road Ahead” may be downloaded as a two-page PDF here. More about the meeting:

Much is being done already to enhance investment in Route 66 and to further the economic contribution and place-remaking afforded by the Mother Road. But more is needed to protect this unique resource and the communities that comprise it. Opportunities for preservation and sustainable development are on the horizon. This strategic roundtable will bring together representatives from industry, government, community groups, and not-for-profits, with the aim of leveraging the new knowledge provided by the Economic Impact Study toward new opportunities for investment and innovative partnerships. […]

This strategic roundtable seeks to bring together representatives from both the public and private sector, including those long-dedicated to the preservation of Route 66 as well as new voices, who can bring fresh perspective to the economic and community development opportunities the Mother Road presents.

The gathering will include a number of presentations, including these intriguing ones:

  • “Making the Case: Economic Impacts of Preservation & Heritage Tourism along Route 66”
  • “Community Investment: Success Stories from the Road”
  • “Incentivizing Preservation: Resources & Leveraging Tools”
  • “The Road More Traveled: Enhancing the Tourism Potential of Route 66”
  • “New Avenues: Emerging Opportunities for Partnership”
  • “Expanded Horizons: The Industry and Private Sector Perspective”

The meeting will be at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim. That is close to Cars Land, where attendees of the meeting will get a complementary tour.

Kaisa Barthuli, program director for the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, said in an email that the meeting won’t be broadcast on the Internet, but that a report about the gathering will be disseminated later.

2 thoughts on “Future of Route 66 will be discussed at two-day event

  1. Ron, I do appreciate your keeping us current on all things Route 66. I enjoy the combination of objective reporting and personal comments. You always entertain, but never more so than today. To say that the Disneyland Hotel is ‘close’ to Cars Land is a masterpiece of understatement. Walking slowly from the Disneyland Hotel to Cars Land (and walking is the only way to get there unless you’re using an ECV [electric cart]) you can make it about 6 or 7 minutes–proving you point. They are close!

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