ROOST halts marketing amid outbreak
LAKE PLACID — The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is halting all outward marketing designed to entice visitors to come to the Adirondacks amid continued concerns over the spread of coronavirus.
The change was announced by Michelle Clement, director of marketing for ROOST, at a meeting on coronavirus at the Conference Center in Lake Placid Friday. The meeting was organized by ROOST.
“For the time being, we have paused all ‘come here,’ hard-sell messaging for the Adirondack region,” she said.
ROOST will be continuously updating its destination pages and main page, roostadk.com, with information related to the coronavirus. An information line has been set up: 1-800-447-5224.
ROOST staffers have been meeting internally as new information about the coronavirus becomes available and discussing marketing messaging moving forward.
The first message: Community support will help carry local businesses through this time.
“If people choose to cancel their spring travel, then let’s stay here and support our local businesses,” ROOST CEO Jim McKenna said Thursday. “If we have to hunker down, let’s do it in a way that still supports our community.”
The agency is still planning for how it may promote the area in the summertime, likely with images that underscore a quiet respite the Adirondack Park can offer: fresh air, no crowds, kayaking, fishermen wading down a river.