Lexington tourism officials are investigating introducing two new tours; one with a rural focus, the other urban-centered.
The Bluegrass is known for its horse farms, but getting an up-close experience has typically been challenging. Lexington Convention and Visitors Bureau President Jim Browder told city leaders there's interest in a new approach to horse farm tours.
Browder says the push is coming from horse farm owners.
"They were a little concerned about the misinformation that goes out, so they wanted to basically say, if you're gonna give a tour or our farm, let's get the information accurate. That's how they started getting involved in the process," said Browder.
Browder says more than 20 farms have come on board and put money into the effort. Vice Mayor Linda Gorton says having a high profile marketer doesn't hurt matters any.
"The reason that brought Disney up was because Disney I think is the master of the experience, right?" said Gorton.
Browder says horse farm operators are proceeding slowly with an interest in making sure it's done well.
VisitLex is also investigating a historic home and garden tour. Browder says there are 115 tour-appropriate structures located downtown.
"You don't want them to exceed two, two and a half hours. They have to have some humor," explained Browder. "They have to have where you get off and experience some things, not just pointing out of a van. Some there's a lot of coordination between what's open, what isn't open."
Browder says the area under study runs roughly from Main Street north to the Transylvania campus.
