Preservation of American Historical Sites Conference (VIDEO)

Americans enjoy visiting historic sites where they can feel a connection to their national past, and this week, a conference is being held to determine the best way to preserve those sites, according to FOX News.

The National Preservation Conference is being held at Union Station in Indianapolis, as well as other historic sites. The conference will be holding seminars, including success stories about historic preservation, which has the potential to help spark revitalization in neighborhoods and city centers.

Cultural heritage tourism, which consists of travelers that are drawn to areas that are deeply covered in history and a unique local flavor, is a big business driver in the United States. Every year, almost 130 million Americans make trips to these sites, which contribute approximately $171 billion to those local economies, according to a report released this year from Mandala Research LLC.

The study also found that eight in 10 travelers visit cultural sites, and those travelers spend more than other travelers, Amy Webb, the field director for the National Trust Historic Preservation's Denver field office, said.

"If you're going to travel, you want to see something you can't see at home," Webb said. "So they go someplace where there are unique buildings that have stories to tell of that place."

These travelers usually visit the shops, parks and restaurants in an area to have an opportunity to sample the local scene, which Webb describes as giving "a multidimensional experience that's not just about going to a museum."

Cultural heritage tourism is another economic benefit that local preservationists should make when they are trying to save old buildings or other sites in danger of being destructed, according to Webb. She is among approximately 2,000 preservation experts who attended the five-day conference.

This mindset has paid off in areas such as Savannah, Georgia, which boasts the nation's largest National Historic Landmark District and 14 other historic districts, with over 20 city squares containing museums, antebellum mansions, monuments and both Revolutionary and Civil War sites.