Is your region looking to capitalise on its recreational trails? Think and plan carefully!

Recreational trails have emerged as vital assets for regions intertwining the threads of economic growth, environmental sustainability, community health, cultural connections and storytelling, and social cohesion. These pathways facilitate not just movement across landscapes, but are also conduits to the development of experiences and businesses that deliver benefits for the region, attract visitors, and enrich the lives of residents.

Increasingly, communities are seeing trails as a potential panacea to economic challenges and are seeking to create the ‘best mountain bike park’, an ‘iconic walk’, or a ‘great trails destination’.

All are worthwhile aspirations and can be delivered in some places. However, whilst the market is certainly growing for outdoor active experiences such as mountain biking, bushwalking, trail running, paddling and the like, the number of opportunities is also increasing; the market is crowded, and your trails-based experience needs to really stand out to compete.

So what is the secret to being the best and making your trails count?

Make an honest appraisal and recognise what you have and what the potential is including comparing with other successful destinations and trail networks. Do you have the potential to really compete with other regional, state or nationally successful trails, or is your offering best suited to the local community and encouraging health, social and environment benefits for residents and their visiting family and friends?

Consider your neighbours and their trail offering; are you better partnering to provide a cohesive suite of experiences and working together to promote a broader regional offering? Or complementing the experiences offered nearby with your own point of difference?

Is the community committed and do you have the social licence to create a trails destination that will attract growing number of visitors (and potentially spend) to your area? The community and the business community need to be engaged; very few trails destinations are successful without a significant commitment to support services including accommodation, shuttle services, outdoor retail stores and so on.

Do you have the resources – people power and financial capital – to build a high-quality trails-based experience and, more importantly, do you have the resources to manage and maintain it well into the future?

Stakeholder relationships: what stakeholders external to the managing auspice are to be consulted and engaged ongoing in the process of managing, maintaining, and promoting the trail experience(s)

Traditional Custodianship: have the Traditional Owners been consulted at the earliest stage and will they be involved in co-designing the trails experience? Are there productive outcomes for the First Nations community, especially economically, culturally and in terms of connecting their community to country.

And when all these questions have been answered it’s time to start the planning…

The Concept Plan is a statement of the overall proposal and how it will be delivered to create the optimal trail-based experience and should include:

• the vision
• the experience you believe is the right one to be offered
• target markets
• necessary infrastructure and product/experience development
• that will be required
• how it could be a) staged and b) consumed by different markets
• a map of the broad concept
• a high-level estimate of what the cost might be (potentially from comparable examples), not just for initial construction and refurbishment but for ongoing maintenance and development

Once there is support for the Concept, you will need to proceed to a Feasibility Study. This may be complemented by a Business Case, or the Business Case may be separate. The Feasibility Studt is basically a reality check on whether the concept is achievable. It needs to address

• The alignment (a broad corridor within which the trail(s) is likely to be built)
• Forecast visitor numbers
• Environmental and cultural assessment of any significant issues that may arise
• Planning and land tenure considerations
• Landholder support and concerns
• Challenges and risk management
• Product and experience facilitation and associated services required to complement the infrastructure
• Cost of planning, development and build
• First Nations and community support
• Ongoing maintenance model and funding
• Ownership, governance and management

Business case elements include capital and operational costs, user and financial projections, employment and revenue potential, and the cost benefit analysis. This enables decisions to be made regarding the viability and funding models for development.

Assuming the project is supported, funded and continues, more detailed planning needs to proceed in the form of a master plan and detailed design.

Whilst the master plan focuses on the overall development including the look and feel, infrastructure design concepts, accessibility, safety, and sustainability etc. the design phase needs to create detailed plans and maps outlining the trail route, specifications, and any necessary structures (e.g., bridges, signage). Focus on.

Get as far as this, and you might be halfway……still to come are the following stages –

Permitting and Approvals: Submitting plans to relevant authorities to obtain necessary permits..

Funding and Resource Allocation: identify funding sources such as grants, local government support or community fundraising.

Allocating resources for materials, labour, and equipment.

Implementation:

• Tender process to identify appropriate suppliers
• Mobilising crews to begin construction
• Ensuring ongoing monitoring for safety and environmental impact throughout the process.

Governance: what organisation will be responsible for managing the trails and what operational structures need to be in place for effective and sustainable management?

Maintenance: Develop a maintenance plan to keep the trail in good condition.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to TRC Tourism trails specialists if you need a hand with any of this!

Janet Mackay
Director TRC Tourism