Website hopes to serve travelers in their own backyards

Website aimed at hometown tourists

BOISE, Idaho — My family will travel halfway around the world to see a koala bear sitting in a eucalyptus tree, but for some reason it took us four years in Boise to see the city’s spooky old 19th century penitentiary, a local favorite just a few miles from our house.

The only thing that really gets us exploring our own city is the arrival of visitors from somewhere else.

And in that, we’re not alone. Most people in any city tend to wait until they have visitors from out of town to see the tourist attractions in their own locale, said Karen Ballard, who stays on top of such things for the Idaho Tourism Division.

“That often causes the locals to rediscover their local area,” said Ballard, the tourism office administrator.

It’s a common theme nationwide and motivation for a pair of entrepreneurs in Charlottesville, Va.

They’ve started a website, A Day’s Outing, to help hometown tourists see the attractions nearby. The site, at www.adaysouting.com/, allows you to put in your zip code or location and request suggestions for quick trips within a certain radius — say, 30 to 120 miles.

A list of preferences lets you specify what kind of outing you have in mind, such as a kid-friendly park, a wine tasting or theaters and museums.

Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth Muse thought up the idea last year when she was visiting her mother in Roanoke, Va.

“It was an amazing fall day, it was gorgeous,” said Muse. “I wanted to drive two hours, find maybe some farm things, maybe something outdoors.”

Muse and her business partner, Cathy Jolly, now scour the Internet for attractions to put on their site, which in June expanded from the Washington, D.C., area to include the whole country. They also offer attractions placement on their site for $9.95.

New as it is, the site is still relatively unpopulated. A search near Montpelier, Vt., turns up many state parks and museums but few of the regional theater offerings available in the area’s small towns.

However, with the search expanded to a 120-mile radius, the site surprises with legions of lesser-known listings in neighboring New York state, such as the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute in the Adirondacks.

Muse and Jolly check the listings by reviewing individual websites and by checking in with local convention or visitors’ bureaus. They exclude casinos and a few other attractions, such as golf.

“We are trying to be very selective about what we have on the website,” said Muse. “Most people who are going to go play golf know they’re going to play golf; it’s not something you make a last-minute decision to do. People are using our website for side trips once they’re on vacation.”

Ballard, like Muse, often learns of an attraction at one site and then does more research on her own with the local tourism office.

“I very much trust a local convention center or visitor’s bureau,” Ballard said. “I have rarely found any of (them) over-exaggerating their assets, and they often just have a lot of good practical tips.”

Muse, a mother of two, knows how hard it can be to get out the door for any trip. She wants to help everyone take that step. A Day’s Outing has an iPhone application and will eventually offer geo-location, enabling users to check their mobile phones for a customized list of sites nearby.

“Be a hometown tourist,” Muse said. “Don’t miss out on the things that people come to your city or your town to visit.”