Building an outdoor recreation economy in the
Genesee Valley.
Built on five years of collaboration that wove a rural development network across the five-county region, the Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative is revitalizing rural communities by growing outdoor tourism and small businesses through regional marketing, infrastructure improvements, business coaching and support.
Trails + Business + Communities = Impact
Our initiative is modeled on the Progress Fund’s original Trail Town Program, which established a proven approach to growing rural economies. In 10 years, the Allegheny Passage Trail Town program fostered 65 new businesses and 270 jobs, achieving an overall economic impact of $50 million per year. In a six-year span, the share of local income generated by outdoor recreation grew from 25% to 40%.
The Genesee Valley Trail Town Initiative builds on a solid platform of impacts that the Letchworth Gateway Villages initiative—now 70+ partners strong—has produced since its founding in 2016: more than $800,000 in new public-private resources for rural development, $1.2 million in grants to support economic development and revitalization in the region’s rural communities for 2020 and 2021, and more than 330 tourism-related businesses supported through our Adopt-a-Business and Digital Main Street programs. In three short years, we catalyzed 12 new hospitality-related businesses, and created 24 and retained 47 jobs.
Our ExploreGeneseeValley.com website promotes over 375 businesses and attractions, and includes content from 87 contributors. In 2021, EGV.com’s visitation grew by XXX% over 2020, driven by XX% new users. (See more about our impact here.)
Our Trail Town initiative is extending these impacts through a collaborative network of ten communities (and growing!) from northern gateways in Monroe County all the way south to our region’s southern gateways in Allegany County.
What’s new in 2022?
We are kicking off 2022 with a partnership with Parks and Trails New York that is bringing PTNY’s significant trail expertise and $300,000 in small grants for Trail Towns to the table. Friends of the Genesee Valley Greenway and the Genesee Valley Greenway State Park are onboard to provide ongoing assistance and focused investments in trail maintenance and construction. In 2022, we will launch a new Trail View tool on ExploreGeneseeValley.com that will allow us to promote trails and other outdoor recreation opportunities, and point trail users to nearby restaurants, lodging and other attractions.
Genesee Valley Trail Towns
How Trail Town programs create long-term impact
The Allegheny Passage Trail Town program offers a view into the future for the Genesee Valley Trail Town initiative. They have learned that a thriving trail economy program:
CREATES economic growth.
The Great Allegheny Passage now has a $50 million economic impact each year, leaping from 25% of the local income to 40% in a 6-year span.GROWS local business and creates jobs.
In its pioneering 10 years, the Trail Town Program netted 65 new businesses and 270 jobs, while growing revenues of even more local merchants.COMPOUNDS the trail’s economic potential
… because it turns a simple path into a long-term destination. Overnight trips can generate more than 6x the revenue per day, and they span more days.IMPROVES infrastructure in rural areas.
It opens doors to new ventures and opportunities, which enriches a community’s options (and boosts local pride).PROTECTS the trails and surrounding nature
Preservation funds are notoriously hard to find, but a community that’s benefitting from the trail will invest back in it, too.
genesee Valley Trail Town Toolkit
Whether your community is already an established Genesee Valley Trail Town, you’re just starting out, or you’re considering joining, this toolkit offers resources for your journey.
