Route Development System
GoodTrail's 7 modules
Creating a community dream
The GoodTrail team begins development with a workshop to move the new adventure route from an idea — linking authentic experiences to provide citizens, travelers, and media with deeper relationships to the destination — to a reality. The first stage connects local stakeholders, operators, industry professionals, promotion experts, and storytellers. This module is both an informational gathering and a place to voice desires, interests, ideas, and questions about the process.
- Workshops and meetings with clients to clearly identify vision
- Interviews with potential stakeholders to gather ideas and on-the-ground information
- Share with all parties the methods used for route creation
Trail structure takes shape
In this second stage, the GoodTrail team moves into logistical mode and provides trail structure. A conceptual route layout is coupled with desktop analysis of the developing product, which includes the identification of any potential challenges, such as land rights, government-policy coordination, and public-private-sector unification. During the second module, interviews with local stakeholders — for use in future promotion stages — will continue as the trail takes shape.
- Desktop analysis of all relevant information regarding route development
- Begin route itinerary based on available resources: maps, guides, knowledge of terrain
- Create an early virtual route
- Prepare spatial data to begin terrain work
- Identification of potential challenges: signage, land ownership, legislation
- Finalize conceptual route
The route becomes real
The GoodTrail team goes into the field to map the route and collect on-the-trail research, which includes spatial information, GPS coordinates, and original video footage and photography to be used for documentation and in the upcoming promotion stages. To guarantee the highest quality result, the GT team will: Involve local guides in the exact trail’s creation; gather story-telling components along the way; and prepare for future marketing and PR campaigns.
- Field research includes spatial data collection, video, and photography
- Navigational details are recorded: surface types, technical difficulty, trail conditions
- GPS data secured
- In-the-field reporting and article-idea development
- Interviews with stakeholders for storytelling and promotion
From concept to tourism product
Bringing the field research back to the office, the GoodTrail team organizes collected data. This organization is critical to several tasks during this module: Processing of GPS data and finalizing route layout; creation of the path’s product itinerary; assessing creative solutions for conceptual and tangible challenges; story development for travel media; inclusion of industry professionals; and implementation of the system’s promotion and marketing.
- Spatial data processed:
– Elimination of rough positional errors
– Improvement of positional accuracy by post-processing GPS measurements
– GPS-tracks and thematic-point corrections, based on orthophoto and satellite imagery
– Interpretation and calculation of quantitative proportions of surface types
– Calculation of each route’s technical data: length, vertical profiles, slopes
- Tourism product itinerary development
- Multiple marketing stories crafted for media use
Web platform and navigational app
This step includes the implementation and presentation of data through the web platform and navigational app. The final cycling/hiking product is presented through our platform: An interactive tool with actualized spatial and technical data, complementary text, and multimedia content. We provide a complete IT solution and design, as well as training for the user interface. Team members will teach stakeholders how to manage the tools, use the app, and utilize the photography gathered during the creation of the trail.
- Presentation of data and IT solutions for the route
- Provide platform and navigational app setup
– software and server installation
– platform initialization
– design of user interface
– customization of web map
- Set up administrative and editorial interface
– cartographic views
– menus and taxonomy settings
- Prepare user accounts (up to five) for content editing and editorial instructions
- Yearly maintenance and backup
– technical updates
– eliminate critical performance errors
– fix security gaps
– weekly backup
– backup recovery if needed
– basic content correction
Planning for sustainability
The final trail layout comes together as marketing and promotion begin to take priority. The team will hold workshops to communicate the necessary steps for welcoming future guests/visitors to the route. These include creating a plan for incorporating hiking- and biking-friendly accommodations and meeting with stakeholders about travelers’ overall needs with a route-based tourism product. Our philosophy here is simple: If locals don’t own the process — thus making the route sustainable — what’s the point?
- Workshops for stakeholders about product guests and their needs.
– Supplier specialization (hiking- and biking-friendly accommodations, for example)
– Presenting good-practice case studies for physically marking the route
- Creation of press releases about the new tourism product will be shared
- Communication with editors, journalists, and media outlets for future stories
International promotion
The final step lays out marketing strategy. During this phase: The trail is shared with international travel media outlets; a launch date and activities for the trail’s promotion are decided upon; an action plan with brand book is created; and a potential press trip is planned. A final workshop with stakeholders — industry professionals — will provide insight about storytelling, proposing articles to media, and transferring marketing strategy to locals.
- Presenting the final product to international travel media
– The GT team will propose stories to international travel media
– Educate editors about the new route
– Craft press releases to share with media, travelers, tourism professionals
- Storytelling workshop
– How to craft stories and simply explain the route’s value
– How to communicate with editors and journalists
– Transfer sustainable marketing tactics to locals
- Marketing strategy for the product
– Marketing positioning
– Key target groups
– Brand and Brand book
– Communication strategy
– Action plan