St. Lawrence Chamber lays out key tourism initiatives for 2020

The Central New York Business Journal recently touched base with Brooke Rouse, executive director of the St. Lawrence County of Chamber of Commerce. 

Rouse says these are the major tourism initiatives for the chamber in 2020:

• Continue to develop and promote the new interactive trails website: www.STLCtrails.com. STLC Trails is a free and easy-to-use tool that brings together information, maps, photographs, and user-submitted trip comments for a growing database of four-season trails in St. Lawrence County. The St. Lawrence Chamber administers STLC Trails in partnership with St. Lawrence County Trails and Nature Up North.

• Launch Trails Challenge for waterfall hikes in the Adirondack Foothills and family friendly experiences;

• Support the hosting of 11 major fishing tournaments along the St. Lawrence River — two of which have national broadcast reach;

• Leverage art, culture, and history events to attract more people and spread awareness of the destination;

• Attract Canadian visitors for golf and cycling, specifically.

The St. Lawrence County of Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1965 and currently has about 500 members, according to its website. Rouse started with the chamber in 2014 as executive director. She oversees the day-to-day operation of the organization, as well as strategic planning for the future. Rouse creates the budget and serves on the executive committee, conducts quarterly meetings, and works on economic, workforce development, and tourism projects for the chamber and St. Lawrence County.