Scenic bike paths like this one in NYC can be an effective way to attract tourist
If a city or town is looking for a simple strategy for economic development, consider bike paths and trails. They're easy to create - you determine a scenic route in your town, find some bike racks for sale, arrange for rentals, create a map, and voila, you just created a tourist destination!
All across America, municipalities are pouring millions into building some feature in their town that will lure in tourists. Tourism dollars are great for any local economy. People visit, they drop money in restaurants, hotels, gas stations, stores and then they leave. So a town reaps the benefits of all those dollars without having to support all those people with schools, services, etc. They arrive, they spend, they go.
What a great way to generate revenue for a town. Local businesses benefit. Tax revenue grows. Area residents have more pride in their town.
But you don't necessarily have to spend millions to build the biggest aquarium, the largest zoo or a gigantic convention center to attract people. Simply build some interesting bike paths.
More and more Americans enjoy riding a bike. More and more Americans are now choosing bicycling destinations. Additionally, when travelers are thinking about visiting your town, the idea of an interesting, scenic bike ride just might be the feature that hooks them in.
Bicycling is the optimal way to see any area. You can only cover so much ground while walking. It's difficult to truly experience and enjoy the views while driving (you certainly don't want to a drive into the back of another car while sightseeing).
But with a bicycle you can cover quite a bit of ground. In just a day, you can enjoy just about all the attractions most cities have to offer. And riding a bicycle gives you the freedom to stop and go as you please, without having to find a parking space (as long as there are an adequate number of bike parking racks available).
Most cities probably have the potential for a fun bike path already in place and don't realize it. Designate a trail along a river, or through an open meadow, wooded area or across a bridge. All you will need to do is create bike lanes, check out bike racks for sale and add them along the route in plenty of locations and then make sure the highway crossings are well-marked and safe.
Then create a map and start promoting your new attraction. Get listed on bicycle websites. Send information about your bike trail to travel websites. Contact travel editors at newspapers in surrounding areas.
For example, MTBparks.com releases an annual list of the towns with the Best Mountain Bike Parks in North America. They include Trestle/Winter Park Co, Mountain Creek NJ, Silver Mountain ID, Angel Fire NM, The Rock WI and Highland NH.
That's just part of a list of 30 in all. Think of the windfall these towns just gained as an awesome mountain biking destination.
But a bike trail attraction doesn't need to involve mountain biking. It can just be a leisurely ride through an interesting area. Some of the more popular bike paths in the US include Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC, High Bridge Park Trail in NY, Memorial Park Trails in Texas, Mammoth Cave Railroad Bike and Hike Trail in Kentucky, Discovery Trail in Washington State, Skyline Wilderness Park Trails, Calif., Bear Creek Greenway, Oregon, Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, Lake Front Trail in Chicago and Manhattan Waterfront Greenway in NYC.
You need biking infrastructure such as bike rentals and bike racks
Wave bike racks for sal
Once a town designates a trail, they need to check out bike racks for sale and make sure they make them available in plenty of locations. Getting your bike stolen on a vacation would certainly not be fun. Those commercial bike racks include wave bike racks, u-style bike racks, architectural bike racks, grid bike racks, bollard bike racks and others.
A smart strategy would be to add custom bike racks, with the city's logo or the logo for the name of the bicycle trail. Another option, to generate private funds for the bike path, is to offer bike racks for sale to local businesses who can then add a sponsor logo and a message. What an effective way for a business to capture those local tourist dollars! Place a custom logo bike rack for a pizza place on the trail for example, with an arrow pointing to the location. That's like having a mini-billboard bringing in customers 24 hours a day 365 days a year.
Be sure that bikes are available for people to actually ride on the scenic bike path. Many cities now offer share-a-ride bicycle programs. People can rent bikes and then drop them off in different locations. Another option is to coordinate promotion of the bike trail with local bike shops. Make sure they have plenty of bike rentals available for visitors to rent for the day.
May is National Bike Month. Some 60 million Americans said they rode a bicycle in the past 12 months. More cities are creating bike lanes than ever before.
This is a hot new trend surrounding a century-old means of transportation. Every city, town, county and park would be wise to get their wheels spinning on making a scenic bike path a major attraction.
To see a list of fun bike paths, visit Active Times.
For top mountain bike parks, go to MTBparks.com.