A report by one of our sister byways has found that Travelers visiting the International Selkirk Loop spend nearly $5 million in their region.  This is a 280 mile byway that loops through the Selkirk Mountains of northeast Washington, northern Idaho and southeast British Columbia.

We have the tools to make a similar study of the economic impact of the Mohawk Towpath Byway in our area.  This would make an excellent project for a student of economics.  We are accumulating data and have been for several years.  What we do know is that over the last dozen years the Byway has captured over a million dollars in federal transportation enhancement and byways grants.  We also know from similar studies that every dollar spent on our self guided cell phone based tour* of significant features on the Byway has a ten fold economic return for our communities.

If you know of a group or academic who would be interested in studying the economic impacts please let me know.  Such study would be helpful in guiding future projects, marketing, and programs.

* Press 518-649-9990 on your smart phone to sample the tour.