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Scenic Byway Community Announcement

ANCA Launches 2006-2007 Scenic Byways Marketing Project:
by Sharon O'Brien

October 24, 2006 - ANCA is pleased to announce that we have procurred Scenic Byway Program grant funding to implement some of the marketing recommendations that were requested by yourself and other community representatives during the development of the Corridor Management Plan for the Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway.

Please read through the following announcment to learn more about the 2006 marketing initiative and then mark your calendars for November 16th. The meeting agenda will be forwarded prior to the November 16 meeting.

ANCA Launches 2006-2007 Scenic Byways Marketing Project:
Communities and businesses will learn how to make the most of byway designation.

Community leaders and owners of businesses and attractions along the corridor of New York State Routes 30 and 30A from Malone to Fonda have a powerful, cost effective resource for economic development and community enhancement: the route’s recognition as the Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway.

The Adirondack North County Association (ANCA) is launching its 2006-2007 Scenic Byway Marketing Project to help stakeholders of the Adirondack Trail gain the most from the many benefits of the byway designation, and relationship to the New York State Scenic Byways program.

On November 16, at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake from 9 am to Noon, the 188 mile long Adirondack Trail Scenic Byway, which spans Franklin, Hamilton, Fulton, and Montgomery counties, will be the focus of the first of several workshops ANCA is scheduling throughout the region over the next several months. Future sessions for the Olympic Trail Scenic Byway are planned.

ANCA encourages business owners, Chambers of Commerce and civic groups, tourism representatives, and local government officials to attend.

At the November 16 meeting, stakeholders will learn how the Adirondack Trail Scenic Byways program can positively impact economic and community development. They will take away strategies on how to best use their Adirondack Trail byway community label to better connect with travelers.

The presentation will include tools and tactics – such as branding, marketing techniques, and resource interpretation -- to establish and use the byway image to promote local and regional resources and attractions. The objective is to empower communities and business owners to achieve marketing goals identified in the Adirondack Trail Scenic Byways Corridor Management Plan completed in April 2005. Susan Fuller, of Fuller Communications in Malone, NY will facilitate the sessions.

ANCA has entered into contract with Fuller to develop the marketing strategies, promotional materials, and web pages that will build consumer awareness of byway communities in the North Country and Tug Hill Regions along the Adirondack Trail and Olympic Scenic Byways.

Terry Martino, ANCA Executive Director says, "We are pleased to have Susan Fuller join our efforts to help communities brand and market the Adirondack and Olympic Byways to ensure recognition by travelers and to present a quality touring experience. ANCA’s partnership with Ms. Fuller will benefit from her strong background in tourism focused projects and community planning."

For more than two decades Fuller has worked with communities and tourism related businesses to develop long-range comprehensive marketing strategies and targeted campaigns. As the first Deputy Commissioner for the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing she helped build brand recognition and traveler awareness to increase numbers of tourist visits and lengths of stay. Her role in programs related to agri-tourism, specialty foods, and "tours and detours" encouraged travelers to move off Vermont’s interstates to visit communities, generating increased tourism revenue. As an independent business owner, Fuller’s clients have included B&Bs, restaurants, motels, and destinations.

ANCA’s 2006-2007 Scenic Byways Marketing Project is focusing on the people, places, and products found in the ten counties of the Adirondack Trail and Olympic Trail Scenic Byways. "The marketing initiative will seek input from each byway community to ensure that all voices are heard," according to Sharon O’Brien, ANCA Scenic Byways Coordinator. "ANCA wants to benefit communities by building promotional, web, and print campaigns that employ the byways’ brands and intrinsic qualities. The goal of this promotion is to help increase the number of visitors and amount of visitor spending in villages, towns, and cities that rely on tourism dollars."

The project has been supported with funding from the NYSDOT’s Scenic Byway Program through the Federal Highway Administration and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.

The scenic byways program, created by the New York State Legislature in 1992, fosters cooperative efforts between citizens, local groups, and local and state governments. The objective is to designate specific roadways for economic development and resource conservation. These scenic roadways focus on natural, social, and cultural attractions that travelers, including visitors to New York State, residents of the state, and citizens of local communities can experience and enjoy.

Please RSVP for the meeting by November 14, 2006. All interested parties are invited to contact Sharon O’Brien, ANCA’s Scenic Byway Coordinator to find out how to join the planning effort by calling 518-891-6200 or anca-obrien@northnet.org.

The Adirondack North Country Association is committed to economically viable communities and a rural quality of life. For more information about ANCA, visit www.adirondack.org.

Adirondack North Country Association
28 St. Bernard Street
Saranac Lake NY 12983
518.891.6200
f518.891.6203
www.adirondack.org
www.adknccrafts.com