Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey Part of
June 27 Orleans County Cruise-In
Sackets Harbor, NY The Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey is joining the 2008 Orleans County Cruise-In. The interactive booth showcasing the tourism and natural resources of the 518-mile National Scenic Byway and National Recreation Trail along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River freshwater shoreline of New York will be at the Orleans County Marine Park at Point Breeze on Friday, June 27.
“The beautiful setting of antique automobiles along Oak Orchard River Gorge at the 11-acre marine park creates a perfect ambiance for us to talk with visitors about their experiences with and impressions of the classic driving tradition of the Seaway Trail byway, says Seaway Trail, Inc. President and CEO Teresa Mitchell.
>From 5 to 9 pm at the Orleans County Cruise-In, Seaway Trail representatives will be answering questions and collecting consumer data for the Seaway Trail branding project now underway. Booth visitors will spin-the-wheel for one of 18 prizes and everyone will have the opportunity to collect a free Great Lakes Seaway Trail Journey magazine. The booth is part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Seaway Trail as a signed driving route, includes special maps and themed interpretive panels.
Orleans County Tourism Director Wayne Hale, says, “We welcome the addition of The Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey to the 2008 Orleans County Cruise-In at the Marine Park, and encourage areas residents and visitors to stop at the booth to share your thoughts on what the byway and its nationally and recreationally significant waters mean to you. You can be part of shaping how the next 30 years of travel on the coastal byway will be delivered.”
Seaway Trail, Inc. Chairman Chuck Krupke said, “Seaway Trail, Inc. is excited about taking our story on the road in this creative and interactive way. We see clear sailing ahead to not only strengthen the byway position in the marketplace,
but to enhance the consumer travel experience and the opportunities for prosperity for Seaway Trail, Inc. member businesses, municipalities, services, and attractions.”
David G. White, a recreation and tourism specialist with New York Sea Grant, is coordinating the summer tour and the branding project on behalf of Seaway Trail, Inc. White says, “The Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey tour helps put the traveling public – including Seaway Trail residents who travel within the byway region – at the helm of this project.
The Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey tour will be gathering critical data, anecdotes, and impressions from tourism consumers at multiple sites along this unique byway that parallels New York’s freshwater shoreline. We are pleased to engage the public alongside Seaway Trail board members, community leaders, and byway businesses in this exciting, creative interaction process that will help chart how Seaway Trail, Inc. and its member attractions, accommodations and services set their sails to deliver on and exceed consumer expectations over the next 30 years.”
Seaway Trail staff and branding consultant TippingSprung, which is helping with the evaluation and revitalization of the Seaway Trail brand, will be collecting consumer impressions about the essential qualities of the byway and the diversity of experiences on the Seaway Trail. The analysis of the Experience The Journey information coupled with online chat data that TippingSprung is collecting and the experiences of Seaway Trail staff since 1978 will help the Seaway Trail branding team assess the public expectations of the byway for the 21st century.
Tipping Sprung Vice President of Brand Strategy and Research Allan DeYoung says, “The public opinion research that will be gathered this summer on the Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey tour will help us chart a brand strategy to enhance the byway visitor experience and encourage Seaway Trail, Inc. member businesses and communities to embrace their positioning on this unique America’s Byway.”
Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey has already visited the New York Power Authority Hawkins Point Visitor Center at Massena, Ontario Beach Park in Rochester, The Landing at Pultneyville, and the Henderson Harbor pull-off overlooking Lake Ontario from the Seaway Trail.
The Seaway Trail in New York was among the first byways nationwide to receive National Scenic Byway status in 1996 from the Federal Highway Administration. The route was first signed as a driving destination in Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence counties in 1978. Today the byway stretches 454 miles across New York through St. Lawrence, Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga, Wayne, Monroe, Orleans, Niagara, Erie, and Chautauqua counties, and includes 64 miles of Seaway Trail Pennsylvania along the Lake Erie shoreline.
The National Parks Service designated the Seaway Trail a National Recreation Trail in the 1980s. It is also a New York State Scenic Byway and a New York State Bicycle Route.
The nonprofit Seaway Trail, Inc. publicly launched the byway branding project in Oswego, NY, in February 29 at a Brand Story Workshop, a brainstorming and visioning session moderated by TippingSprung and attended by board and business members. TippingSprung, LLC is a New York-based brand consultancy that has worked with such travel-related industry leaders as AAA and Hyatt Hotels.
The June 27th Orleans County Cruise-In at Kent will feature antique and classic cars, Chiavetta’s Chicken BBQ at 5 pm and music all in a lovely waterfront setting at the Orleans County Marine Park on Point Breeze Road at the Lake Ontario State Parkway. Learn more about the park at www.orleanscountytourism.com/recreation/waterways.htm. Learn more about the Seaway Trail at www.seawaytrail.com
Look for the Seaway Trail: Experience The Journey interactive booth at the Orleans County Marine Park Cruise In at Point Breeze on June 27 and at community venues all along the byway’s freshwater shoreline this summer. Pickup a free Journey magazine, spin the Seaway Trail prize wheel, and help Seaway Trail, Inc. staff collect consumer data for the Seaway Trail Revitalizing the Brand project.
|
