In 2014, leaders from Adirondack businesses and government came together to discuss the current economic situation of the park at a conference called "Advantage Adirondacks". A full report was created by the conference leader, Adirondack Partnership, to summarize the park's economic goals and strategies. Out of the four main goals that the report listed, the last one grabbed my attention: "Advance the park as a world class destination." A world class destination implies that the Adirondacks would be one of the world's best vacation spots. The Adirondacks would suddenly appear on the bucket lists of people from England and Japan. Nightmarish visions of Disneyland come to mind. While I do think more people should recognize the value in the Adirondacks, I'm just not sure the whole world needs to.
The Adirondack Park draws in a certain type of resident and tourist; one that appreciates nature, especially wild nature. Some of the strategies to implement this "world class destination" goal strengthened this idea. In order to market the park to new tourists, the report suggests an Adirondack Trail Towns initiative. There would be a public list of towns to visit for those interested in art, music, history, and shopping. It may seem to make more sense to create trails for those interested in kayaking, hiking, and snowmobiling but those aren't the economies that could use a boost. Adirondack businesses are hoping to put more focus on other cultural aspects to market to the less sporty and adventurous tourists as well as to people of all ages.
While the Adirondack Trail Towns Initiative highlights a different part of the Adirondacks, there was another strategy that seemed to introduce a whole new culture. Apparently, Wellness Services are the up and coming businesses of the park. One idea that I was on board with was "medical tourism". There would be centers for physical rehab, addiction rehab, cancer medical care, and other types of recovery. These centers would provide access to the beautiful nature of the park for those who could really use the serenity.
So far, this Advantage Adirondacks report seemed to be incorporating the spirit of the park in their marketing to tourists. Yet, "Wellness Services" also includes "spas, sales of natural body and beauty products, spiritual
retreat centers, and nutrition and wellness counselors". And that's where I draw the line. Maybe I'm too limiting but the Adirondack Park is not for the tourist hoping to get a massage and mud mask. It's for the tourist ready to be sore after a day of hiking in the mud. When I imagine the Adirondack Park as a "world class destination", I see positive and negative changes to the culture. I hope that in the future, the park can continue economically prospering from drawing people in with a genuine interest in it's history and nature.
http://www.adirondackstrategies.com/
http://www.adirondackstrategies.com/pdf/advantage-adirondacks-final-full-report-2014-11-21-compressed.pdf
http://www.adirondackstrategies.com/pdf/adk-executive-summary-final-2014-11-21.pdf
This is really interesting, and very fitting for the reading we just did! I think its a great idea to create "trails" for specific aspects of Adirondack culture- clearly, as we've seen in the class, there's a lot more to the place than the wilderness. The "Wellness" thing is also very interesting- its just like the tuberculosis center that we read about, and like the anecdote in Murray. I think its a great idea, but important to keep it from being, like you said, a place to get a mud mask. Really cool post!
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