From more signs to less graffiti, 6 ways to boost Fall River's outdoors tourism business

FALL RIVER — A TV show taped in Fall River last summer focused on the wealth of outdoor activities available within the city limits. The challenge now, city tourism experts said, is to learn from this experience and help visitors explore Fall River for themselves.

“I think that Fall River has an outdoor brand that is really undersold,” said city forester Mike Labossiere.

He was one of several locals profiled in an episode of “Explore New England,” a TV series devoted to outdoors travel tourism available on NESN, YouTube and Roku. Labossiere, “Explore New England” host and executive producer Tom Richardson and many others joined a panel hosted by Viva Fall River’s Executive Director Patti Rego at the Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition’s new Ignition Space at 44 Troy St., where people with a stake in Fall River tourism watched the episode and talked strategy to bring in new customers.

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The episode is available to watch for free on YouTube. It focuses on hiking and mountain biking in the city’s 16,000-acre Bioreserve, cycling on the Quequechan River Rail Trail, kayaking in the South Watuppa Pond, boating, fishing and dock-and-dining on the waterfront, and more — all things that Richardson said he was surprised could be found in Fall River.

It’s not just an opportunity for fun, panelists said, but for economic growth.

“It’s about keeping the visitor in the city for as long as possible, giving them more things to do," said Rego. "We don’t want them to go right back on the highway.”

Here are six ideas to improve tourism in Fall River:

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1: Hold more public events

“You could probably hold some events with various organizations in the area,” said John Tomawski, president of the local chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association. “On weekends, hold events at a time of day when other people can show up."

The Bioreserve is home to the Freetown 50, a 50-mile mountain biking race. The Appalachian Mountain Club and the Trustees of Reservations also host regular guided walks, and the United Way’s United We Move annual campaign has people running, walking and cycling through the city’s woods.

There may be a market for shorter, more frequent events to hook newcomers.

“You’ve got to make it easy for people, especially beginners," said Richardson. “You’ve got to hold them by the hand, and say, 'Here’s your kayak, here’s where you go.' Ideally, you have a guide.”

2: Improve access to outdoor activities

Nicole Lund of Borden Light Marina said visitors frequently come to Battleship Cove — but they need improved walking access from there to her Ferry Street businesses, including signs, comfortable sidewalks and crosswalks.

Sarah Labossiere, representing the South Coast Bikeway, said " bike lanes and separated and protected shared-use paths are very important,” not only for recreation but people using bikes for commuting and errands.

There may be an untapped market for bike and kayak rental businesses — which signal to tourists that outdoor fun is nearby.

“When I see a bike rental place, or canoe or kayak rental, I know there’s something there,” she said.

Roads leading into the Bioreserve from Fall River are generally unpaved and unpassable by cars. Most visitors must come, and leave, through Freetown, Westport or Dartmouth. Mike Labossiere said the roads were long allowed to stay poor to discourage misuse of the land, including dumping. This may have to change, he said.

“If we’re really going to get on the map as a destination for the Bioreserve,” he said, “we’ve got to reconcile what is the right kind of access, do we have the right support for it — and that remains to be seen.”

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3: Install more signs to show people the way

Nearly every speaker said the city needed to put up more signs — guideposts to direct visitors where to go, whether they’re on the waterfront or in the woods, how to find the city’s other activities, and where to get a bite to eat and a drink afterward. The city can't rely on smartphones to do this work, they said.

Mike Lund also noted the outdated signs on Interstate 195 as drivers approach Fall River that simply advertise “waterfront attractions.”

“It doesn’t list the Narrows. It doesn’t list the two breweries that are down there. It doesn’t list Stumpy’s," Lund said. “To make this existent, it’s got to be people from out of town spending their money. Then they start sniffing around and then they learn what’s the hidden secret of the city.”

4: Businesses must collaborate and cross-promote

Mike Labossiere said the Bioreserve has benefited from the Appalachian Mountain Club doing regular hikes with 20 or 30 people from Boston, the Cape or Providence. “The folks go on a two-, three-hour walk and then it’s lunchtime," he said, adding that there’s an opportunity to give these people flyers directing them to restaurants and cafes in the city and how to get there.

That woods-and-water cross-promotion is key, the Lunds added.

“Something as simple as brochures,” Nicole Lund said. “You go to tourist destinations like Newport or Providence, and you walk into a restaurant, and they have pamphlets of what’s happening in the city. It’s simple, but it works.” 

5: Fall River needs to understand its own value

Rego noted that even though she’s a city native, she never knew the extent of the Bioreserve. Mike Labossiere added that to market itself, Fall River needs a little better understanding of itself and what it has to offer.

Nicole Lund said the “Explore New England” episode “should be shown in every school in the city.”

“These kids are the next generation. Have they tried mountain biking? Have they tried hiking? Have they been out in the woods? Do they know what a sailboat looks like?” she said.

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She added that schools could plan more field trips taking advantage of Fall River’s outdoors activities, with kids teaching their parents about what’s around them.

“One thing that’s come up in the last couple of years is the amount of money that’s in Fall River that leaves on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” said Mike Lund. “It’s not just the money from the outside, it’s also keeping the money that’s here within.”

6: Improve Fall River’s curb appeal

Mike Lund said he’s frequently disappointed by the impression the city gives off to visitors coming off the highway to the waterfront: ugly fencing and overgrown weeds near the Battleship, and graffiti all over buildings.

“How does that out-of-town visitor feel comfortable to walk up the street to Columbia Street, to Sagres, or walk toward where we are?” he said. 

Curt Larson, vice president of NEMBA, agreed, saying he gives mountain bikers tips on where to ride locally, but “I can’t send them somewhere with a bunch of bicycles on the back of their vehicle when that’s their first impression — when they go to a street and say, 'I can’t park here. I’m not leaving bikes on the back.’”

Richardson said the city is making huge strides in overcoming its reputation as a tough mill town, but needs to further connect its waterfront and downtown with safe green space.

“Make it easy for people to go between the two places and not feel threatened or nervous,” Richardson said. “Unfortunately, it’s that reputation that you have to overcome, and you have to do it one visitor at a time.”

Dan Medeiros can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: TV show explores Fall River's outdoors potential: 6 tourism tips