Elevating the Erie Canalway Trail - By James Meerdink

Elevating the Erie Canalway Trail Economic Impact and Marketing of a Cycling Destination in Upstate New York

About us Parks & Trails New York is the state’s leading advocate for parks and trails, working since 1985 to expand, protect and promote a network of parks, trails and open spaces for use and enjoyment by all

Agenda



 

Erie Canal and Canalway Trail background Economic Impact Study Future promotion & engagement

History of Development – Erie Canal •

• • • • • •

• •

1825 1850s 1918 1960s 1970s

Original Erie opened Enlarged Erie opened Barge Canal opened Individual communities develop towpath NYSDOT and NYSOPRHP – tasked with developing canal for recreational use 1990s NYS Canal Corporation assumes responsibility 1995 Canal Recreationway Plan produced 2000 Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor 2014 National Register-listed

Trail Ambassadors & End-toEnd Recognition Program  “Eyes and Ears”  Cheerleaders  Welcome crew

 Numbers growing every year  Tour rider + ???  Aspirational

Close the Gaps advocacy

Existing resources

Mobile-optimized map www.CycletheErieCanal.com

New edition of best-selling guidebook - released last July!

Annual bike tour

The Numbers… 

Economic Impact Study released in 2014



Funding from NYS Canal Corporation & Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor



Research conducted by Paul A. Scipione, Ph.D. – SUNY Geneseo, Professor Emeritus & Director of Survey/Research Center, Jones School of Business

Why did we do the study?  Provide comprehensive data on trail usage and economic impact  Confirm anecdotal belief of ECT as an important contributor to Upstate economy  Establish benchmark and methodology for future surveys

What did we learn?

1.58 million visits per year

Estimated Annual Trail Traffic Volume by Segment Trail Segment

Trail Count Locations

1 - Buffalo waterfront to Pendleton

Niawanda Park, City of Tonawanda, Erie County

2 - Lockport to Albion 3 - Albion to Rochester west of the Genesee River

Widewaters, City of Lockport, Niagara County

4 - Rochester east of the Genesee River to Newark

Monroe County

Henpeck Park, Town of Greece, Monroe County

Estimated Annual Trail Traffic Volume 359,177 46,674 83,954

Lock 33, Town of Brighton Schoen Place, Village of Pittsford Perinton Park, Village of Fairport

220,984

Bushnell’s Basin, Town of Perinton

6 - DeWitt to Oneida 7 - Oneida to Oriskany 8 - Oriskany to Utica

Whitbeck Road, Town of Arcadia, Wayne County Nine Mile Creek Aqueduct, Town of Camillus, Onondaga County Cedar Bay Park, Town of Dewitt, Onondaga County * Lock 20 Park, Town of Marcy, Oneida County

9 - Mohawk to Canajoharie

East side of Genesee Street, City of Utica, Oneida County Village of Fort Plain, Montgomery County

5 - Port Byron to Camillus

Village of Canajoharie, Montgomery County

134,089 66,260 42,882 52,744

68,983

10 - Canajoharie to Amsterdam

*

42,882

11 - Amsterdam to Schenectady

Schenectady Community College, City of Schenectady, Schenectady County

42,882

12 – Schenectady to Cohoes

Lions Park, Town of Niskayuna, Schenectady County

178,042 240,782 1,580,335

13 – Cohoes to Albany Corning Preserve, City of Albany, Albany County Total Trail Visits: * The lowest actual trail traffic volume estimate, obtained at Schenectady Community College, was applied to the trail sections for which observational or automatic counter data could not be obtained

Usage is local  92% live in 14 ECT counties  97.5 % live in 35 counties of Zone One

 50% live within 5 miles of the ECT Marketing Opportunities • Large local, year-round audience • Major opportunity for non local visitor growth

Trail Users Living Less Than 5 Miles from the Trail by Mode of Reaching Trailhead Group

Percent

Walk

22%

Bike

35%

Horseback

Car, truck, van n = 268

57% walk or bike to the ECT

0%

44%

How much do ECT visitors spend?

$210.6 million per year in direct spending

Heads in beds…

Spending and Visits by Segment Zone Zone One Day Zone One Overnight Zone Two Overnight

TOTAL

Number of Trail Visits

% Trail Visits

Direct Spending ($)

% Spending

1,292,031

81.75%

$34,063,632

16%

249,152

15.77%

$132,388,646

63%

39,152

2.48%

$44,169,698

21%

1,580,335

100%

$210,621,976

100%

• Overnight visitors (18%) = 84% of spending • Lodging and food = 74% of spending

New money = Zone Two visitors • 21% of overall spending • $55.8 million in economic impact

• 731 jobs

Who’s using the trail?

Typical trail user •

Employed, college-educated, male cyclist

•

Member of Generation X (ages 30-49)

•

•

Average household income

•

Spends ~$26.37/person/visit

Trail Users by primary trail activity 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

30% 20% 10% 0%

All Trail Users

59% bicyclists

Zone One Trail Users

Zone Two Trail Users

Suggestions for future marketing efforts

Age of Trail Users Age Cohort 18-29 30-49 50-69 70-79 80+ n =378

Percent 16% 41% 34% 7% 1%

Acknowledge generational differences

• Learn what they want and cater to it • Use their communication channels

Promote Canal history Trail Users by Interest in Canal History Response

Percent

Definitely Does

35%

Does Somewhat

44%

Not at all Not very well

4% 17%

n = 497

79% expressed interest

Engagement with healthy living Trail Users by Primary Trail Use 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

All Trail Users

Zone 1 Trail Users

Zone 2 Trail Users

• 61% weekly use or more • 51% 30-60 minutes/visit • 99% believe trail activities have positive effect

Promote cycling trips

Interest in cycling trips Interest in Organized Ride Percent

Could not at this time take such a trip Have not taken such a trip before but would be interested in one Have taken such a trip before and hope to again Have taken such a trip before and probably won't again n = 511

38%

42%

• 61% interested in organized rides • 69% interested in longer bicycling trip

19% 1%

• Across all ages and incomes

ECT vacationers A special market

22% of visitors = ECT Vacationers

Typical ECT vacationers  Highly educated, employed, male Baby Boomers  96% ECT influenced their vacation choice  Visit the trail to bicycle with 1-3 others for more than 2 hours

 Spend on average $939 per person, per visit

Market potential  Half of U.S. adults (98 million persons) participate in adventure vacations each year  27 million persons have taken a bicycling vacation in the past five years U.S. Travel Association

ECT Vacationers How They First Found Out About the Trail

• More than half with incomes > $100,000 • Social media and satisfied visitors sharing • Biking and natural scenery are big draws

Communication Channel Word of mouth PTNY website Internet search PTNY Guidebook Magazine Driving past NYS Canal Corporation website Bike shop County tourism office Live by the trail Trail kiosk Signage Newspaper Tourist agency Other n = 100

Percent 42% 28% 21% 19% 17% 13% 11% 9% 6% 5% 4% 4% 4% 3% 12%

Take-aways  Local users AND ECT vacationers  Healthy living  Canal history/heritage

 Tailored communications via multiple means  Great upside for cycling trips, packages

Blazing new trails…

ECT Facebook & Twitter  Sharing stories  Trail advisories  Highlighting existing resources  Connecting with attractions, communities along corridor

Coordinated marketing campaign & website launch

What’s next?

• Close the Gaps & Amtrak “Roll-on” advocacy • Increasing awareness – “longest trail of its kind in the nation!”

• ECT story-telling • More targeted marketing and other offerings based on visitor preferences, demographics

Other ramblings…  Are our communities safe for bicycling and walking?  Do I need a car to ride a bike (i.e. drive to multi-use trail)?  Tourism vs. local use?

Thanks!

James Meerdink, Project Director jmeerdink@ptny.org (518) 434-1583