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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda - 02-21-2017-13-2 - Information Item - Economic Impact & Marketing Strategy for Mountains-to-Sea Trail 1 INFORMATION ITEM Economic Impact&Marketing Strategy Mountains-to-Sea Trail Orange County,North Carolina kir Nom` '. 1.�' 7 , ,I I" MST _, I + :r te;+7 - 1 .w ,}' ce 1. i .r } 5 t le.g.).- OrZt.;* .-... . '• , II" ..- . . ...,'1\Ibill 494- _._ 4 , l,„1. iir. ..,. ,,,, R I)? .410117....- Alle 4116 i 1 I TOURISM&VISITOR PROMOTION—Marketing Goals for Orange County The Orange County Visitors Bureau reports that marketing the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST)to locals, visitors and school groups,and especially the trail route running through our community,will be very important to leveraging the economic development success of the Orange County trail. According to research available from Orange County's Visitors Bureau,"scenic trails",as a product offering,are tourism assets according to market research available to the Visitors bureau through Longwood's International. From an economic impact perspective,visitors who seek out trails and byway-type travel,classified as"touring travelers," spend more $dollars per trip than the average overnight trip. When they travel,touring travelers spend 59%more per trip than average overnight travelers($858 versus$541),according to the Longwood study. Eighty-nine percent of tourism travelers stay in a hotel,motel,or resort hotel during their overnight trip,compared to 51 percent of all overnight travelers. 2 Based on these estimates,Visitors Bureau staff anticipates annual economic contribution of$150,000 from spending by visitors who originate on a trail or begin their experience in Hillsborough. Over ten (10)years,this represents a potential economic boon of$1.5 million in increased revenues for Orange County. From a strategic economic development perspective,if approved,we must ensure that this product remains attractive to visitors and residents. The initial roll-out of a marketing plan(which should be shared among Orange County's Visitors Bureau and Hillsborough Tourism Development Authority)will be aimed at residents. Once our community is aware of the trail,residents will play a key part in bringing visiting friends and family to partake in trail activities,with ancillary benefits to restaurants and retail,transportation and related sightseeing activity. Marketing will be a function of the Visitors Bureau within Economic Development.The goal will be to: • Extend visitors' stay by one day. • Bring new school groups to the trail. • Encourage out-of-state hikers to stop in Orange County,dine,stay in a hotel one night and enjoy the amenities of our communities. Marketing Tactics: • Print and on-line ads to be placed in city publications that have a trail component in their backyard. • The Visitors Bureau will produce a trail map and launch a public relations program consisting of social media,print news release distribution and video of trail walkers. An important part of the Economic Development and Visitors Bureau department's goal in 2018 will be to identify the"Scenic Trail's traveler's profile"and expectations of the Mountains to Sea Trail experience in North Carolina. Sources: http://www.americantrails.org/resources/economics/Trail-Towns-Great-Allegheny-Passage-tourism.html http://www.americantrails.org/resources/economics/Trail-Towns-Tourism-Guide.html http://www.americantrails.org/resources/economics/novikirelandl.html RECENT DEVELOPMENTS—Collaboration Increases Among Partners Orange County's MST development has recently benefitted by increased collaboration among various nonprofits,private businesses and a major electric power utility. To illustrate,the Eno River Association has just secured a 1.9 acre trail and conservation easement along Pleasant Green Road that will serve to further connect the Mountains-To-Sea Trail within the County. This progress will add 4 miles of Eno River trails in the immediate area,and also include a new footbridge over the Eno River. It will connect the Pleasant Green trail access area with the Few's Ford trail access at Cole Mill Road. Partners in this latest addition of Eno River trail easement in Orange County include the Eno River Association,the Friends of the North Carolina Mountains-To-Sea Trail,the power utility Duke Energy,and the retail store Great Outdoor Provision Company. Duke Energy&Great Outdoor Provision assisted with financial sponsorship. Kate Dixon,who serves as the statewide executive director of the Friends of the North Carolina Mountains-To- Sea Trail agency,has described this new partnership as a major breakthrough to help complete the MST route from Fall Lake (in Durham County)to Hillsborough in Orange County. 3 ORANGE COUNTY'S MST PLANNING CORRIDOR–Background Information Orange County's Department of Environment,Agriculture,Parks and Recreation summarizes the Mountains- to-Sea Trail (MST)plan as a 1,000-mile trail that will traverse the state from the Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina to Jockey's Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. Partners across the state are helping to plan and build the trail that will link communities and serve as the backbone of a growing system of land and water trails in North Carolina. About 530 miles of dedicated trail roughly half the planned length—has been completed to date and is open for hiking. A series of interim roadway connectors(bicycle routes and back roads)have been identified by the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail organization that knit together the completed sections of the MST across the state. The MST Planning Corridor through Orange County(from west to east)begins at the Haw River in the far southwest corner of the county,then parallels Cane Creek to the northeast through OWASA's Cane Creek Reservoir lands,then further northeast through the Seven Mile Creek Preserve and Occoneechee Mountain State Natural Area. From Occoneechee Mountain the trail will follow the Eno River along Hillsborough's Riverwalk and through land owned by Classical American Homes Preservation Trust and Eno River State Park into Durham County. The Orange County Board of Commissioners endorsed the MST Planning Corridor in April 2010 following the review and approval of its advisory boards(Intergovernmental Parks Work Group,Parks and Recreation Council,Commission for the Environment)and the town boards of Hillsborough,Chapel Hill and Carrboro. County staff are working in collaboration with the State Trails Program(a section of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation),Eno River State Park,the Town of Hillsborough,the Friends of Mountains-to-Sea Trail(FMST),and others to develop specific plans for the MST in Orange County—thereby transitioning the trail planning corridor to an actual"trail alignment." The initial focus has been on determining the trail alignment through the County's Seven Mile Creek Preserve and linking the Preserve with Occoneechee Mountain and the Hillsborough Riverwalk. A secondary focus is working with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority(OWASA)to identify a potential trail alignment through OWASA's Cane Creek Reservoir lands in the southwestern part of the county,and then linking the Reservoir lands with the Alamance County section of the MST along the Haw River. There are sections of the MST in Orange County that are already completed and open for public use. They are within River Park and Gold Park—both in Hillsborough. East of Hillsborough,there are designated sections of the MST open in Eno River State Park. Finally,a section of the MST was also recently completed(although not yet dedicated)east of the Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail on lands owned by Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. Other sections of the trail are expected to be completed in the next few years,but the entire length of trail through Orange County will not be completed for several years. As is the case for many sections of the state,the Mountains-to Sea Trail is a"work in progress,"but the ultimate goal is a 1000-mile trail from Clingmans Dome to Jockey's Ridge State Park. 4 NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail Corridor Orange County Section In 1 .� { !: . }..Ki_ Z:� — . Lake Ivl1 ell ae! L f , Wlll{}/ r 1 err I it .. 1 .......___ ,,:i do j1 yA7rE.,_� -7- '' ..L._...,,,,,e_ . 1 ■ - �1i-._j, _. y I SBOROUGH -.51, } Eno River 1110 . .n _ . . -''' i.k. - ir ) ...: . • I i 4 AIL l•i m il .` +e,. . ' 'I V 4 1%' ''11 11 4 k• .-V <'; ' •--1 CD 5 .J p _ . , ., _....,--clsi,„._e , ?_ 1 i 1'., Turkey Hill •• f - .1 II 0 , .c t I Creek •• ^r1 IIII ..A,1 C " .. $ ^1/4.11 1 .e .... ,,:, 1 fir !',,, Ne•H ]Gea 4 Cane i�! Creek I U Resew, r l` _ �.4 Dry - `` x - 1.-.k,, i . 1 �▪ � ice. 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