Trail tourism invigorating communities throughout America.
These ten stories show that trail tourism is invigorating communities throughout America.
One major benefit of trail tourism is that it is money spent in rural towns and in more economically disadvantaged areas. Many of the people traveling to a trail and spending a night or more in the area are economically well off and have significant discretionary income.
A study from the Progress Fund Initiative showed trail tourism on The Great Allegheny Passage generated an average of $18 per day for single-day trail users, and $124 a day for overnight trail users. This trail sees well over 850,000 users per year.
A 2018 study from Helena, Montana showed their South Hills trail system generating $4.3 million in economic impact annually from 63,000 users. Helena itself has a population of around 32,000 residents, so the majority of trail users are tourists.
Michigan’s Huron River Water Trail is a 104-mile inland paddling trail that generates large economic impacts through trail users. A 2013 economic analysis showed this impact for the 26 municipalities located along the trail.
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