The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) is seeking feedback from residents and business owners within Essex and Hamilton counties, along with the villages of Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, regarding their perception of how tourism affects the economy and impacts the region.
The survey has been distributed to business owners and local residents through email and via social media channels, with responses collected throughout October and early November. A link to the survey can be found here.
The survey has been designed to capture perceptions, opinions, and overall sentiment about a number of topics related to tourism within the region. It will collect information about ways in which the local tourism economy benefits local communities with regard to local services, business success, job creation, and overall quality of life, including its relationship to housing, employment, population, and impacts of marketing the area to outside regions. Many questions are structured to elicit an “agree” or “disagree” response, while the final survey questions are open-ended to encourage respondents to share information that may not have been asked within the survey.
According to ROOST CEO Dan Kelleher, it’s important to measure progress toward the organization’s goals. Analyzing results of tourism-focused research assists with refining its scope of work to help ensure that communities benefit from the tourism economy. “ROOST is focused on creating a sustainable tourism economy that supports the Adirondacks—economically, socially, and environmentally,” he said. “We actively seek community input regularly to assess efforts, measure success, and identify opportunities for process improvement or change. Understanding local sentiment is key to identifying areas of concern, allowing us to manage tourism more effectively and plan for the future.”
According to Troy Tetrault, data analyst at the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, ROOST is hoping that local residents and business owners will complete the survey. "The more data we receive, the more accurate our assessment of how tourism is impacting businesses and communities,” he said. “We hope that people will answer the questions and share the link with family and friends in their community.”
The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Those who take part will be registered for a chance to win a VISA gift card, valued at $100. The survey will remain open until November 16.