Rail-Trail Sojourn Injects $38,000 in Morgantown-area Businesses
Mon River Trails Release
6 May 2015
A tour of rail-trails in and around Morgantown last weekend
attracted about 100 riders and support staff from 12 states, who
spent more than $38,000 on local hotels, food and services.
The three-day event was Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC)
inaugural West Virginia Rail-Trail Sojourn, and was co-hosted by
the Mon River Trails Conservancy.
Intended to highlight the benefits and impact of regional trail
networks, the Sojourn drew attention to missing links between the
Mon River, Caperton and Deckers Creek rail-trails and other
rail-trails in West Virginia and Pennsylvania that, if completed,
could result in a 180-mile trail.
Each Sojourn cyclist this past weekend spent an average of $121.53
on meals, beverages and snacks from local shops and restaurants,
in addition to the food provided by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy,
which was sourced from local vendors. $20,835.00 was spent on
lodging.
In a post-event survey, 90.2 percent of riders said they learned
about local attractions that they plan to return to visit and
enjoy. Local restaurants, and the waterfront area, were the two
things they found "most appealing about Morgantown."
The average age of the riders was 61. There were more women then
men. And about 63 percent of the riders had an average annual
household income of more than $100,000.
For more information about the work being done to promote and
extend the region's rail-trail network visit
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=9f3c6561-c622-4f27-b0da-7566e693cf3e&c=64a3c310-1e48-11e4-9b89-d4ae529a848a&ch=651d38d0-1e48-11e4-9bd9-d4ae529a848a