Economics, community development and rail trails

Darebin Bicycle User Group (BUG) invites you to hear
Dr. Sue Beeton from La Trobe University talk about the community benefits of Rail Trails.

Sue’s expertise is in tourism and community development, and she has been studying the effect of the Murray to Mountains trail since 2003  

7pm for a 7:30 start; Food and drink available

*Photo courtesy of Railtrails Australia*

Getting there
Train: Hurstbridge line, south side, Fairfield railway station
Bus: 567, Northcote to Regent;
Bike: bike hoops at the station and two outside Bean Counter two doors away (cnr Gillies St and Railway Place). Although there is nothing to lock your bike to, management are happy with bikes being parked on the forecourt.

More about Sue:
Dr Sue Beeton is an Associate Professor in Tourism at La Trobe University, where she has undertaken a variety of research projects on tourism and recreation on public land and its impact on local communities. She is the author of three books, two related to community development and tourism, with the third on the relationship between film and tourism.

Her interest in Rail Trails began through her work regarding managing multi-use trails, and has extended into the field of cycling and cycle tourism. In 2003 Dr Beeton undertook the first study on the economic effect of Rail Trail cycling on local communities, looking at three trails in Victoria. She has repeated this study twice more at three year periods for the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, which is the most developed of the Rail Trails, providing a rare longitudinal study. Over this period, the average spending of visitors to the Trail has increased to $244 per day in 2009, along with a growth in local facilities for cyclists and the community, along with additional entrepreneurial opportunities. This compares favourably with the average spending of $159 per day for overall tourists in the region. As Dr Beeton notes, “The high level of spending refutes the belief that cyclists are ‘budget travellers’ who leave little in the local communities through which they cycle.”