Letter to the Editor: Don’t leave it to chance

By ERIC ZINGLER | Kendall

The Backtalk editorial dated Sept. 24 stated that “…not a shred of evidence suggests that the quarry will have a significant impact on the overall tourism dollars now rolling into Monroe County.” I disagree. Over the past 50 years, there has been good stewardship of the trail by the DNR, trail board, tourist-friendly businesses and welcoming towns. This has built brand awareness just like trust is built in products or services. For example, this month the Elroy-Sparta Trail is receiving an award for the “Most Family-Friendly Trail.” With the exception of the negative reviews regarding the cutting of trees a few years ago, reviews on national trail websites like http://www.traillink.com/ are positive, building the trail brand as a safe, exciting, fun riding experience in a scenic and pastoral setting.

Word of mouth builds brand, people talking favorably and making recommendations. Social media has taken this process to a “word of mouth revolution.” Consumers can instantly compare what is advertised with the real-life experience of peers by reading their reviews. For example, Yelp.com completely indexed the trail towns in its all-encompassing effort to grow review readership. Check out Wilton for reviews, and you will see they are trickling in. Even the township at the center of the quarry controversy has been included: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=wilton%2C+wi&find_loc=Mauston%2C+WI&ns=1#find_desc&find_loc=wilton,+wi.

Corporations, tourism and even the government are turning to social science for understanding this new marketing challenge. One study conducted by Dr. Gretzel of Texas A&M University’s Laboratory for Intelligent Systems in Tourism was sponsored by Tripadvisor to find out the impact of peer-to-peer reviews on tourism choice. Ninety-seven percent (97.7 percent) of those surveyed read other travelers’ online reviews. The majority of respondents (71 percent) rated a detailed description as extremely or very important. Almost all of the respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that other travelers reviews influenced them in the following ways: learning about a travel destination (94.6), evaluating alternatives (91.9), avoiding places or services they would not enjoy (91.8). The study also assessed how people determine review credibility. It can be sourced at http://www.tripadvisor.com/pdfs/OnlineTravelReviewReport.pdf.

One estimate gives trail ridership at 2.5 million over the past 50 years. If the brand grows and more people are reached through social media venues, such as the trail’s new smartphone-compatible website, http://www.elroy-sparta-trail.com, that number can be expected to increase in the next 50 years. With this volume of ridership, the trail has become “transparent” in the Internet world of smartphones and social media. The evidence that we live in a “glass house” is the compelling monetary reason that the Wilton Township Board and all interested parties that support the trail should find a way to avoid having gravel trucks cross the trail and electronic gates installed to stop riders.

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