Eleven Westchester hotels hope tourists take to the trails this summer.
The Westchester Hotel Association and Westchester County Tourism this month unveiled a “Fit and Active” hotel package that capitalizes on the county”™s natural resources as attractors of business.
One leg of the package, “Bicycle Sundays,” makes way for cyclists on select days.
“The Bronx River Parkway is closed from the County Center in White Plains down to where the Sprain and Bronx River are and you can bike, roller-skate and do lots of nice, outdoor things,” said Lydia Ruth, marketing manager, Westchester County Tourism. “We also have a tourist information center, which is right above Exit 9 at Leewood Drive.”
The center will be open every Saturday and Sunday from July 3 to Aug. 29; it provides restrooms, water fountains and hotel information.
Hotel association members will offer special rates and recreational itineraries.
“When we”™re working against each other, that does nothing else but hurt us,” said Westchester Marriott General Manager Dan Conte, vice president of the Westchester Hotel Association. “But if we”™re (hotels) working together, then it can only help the community and county from a business perspective.”
Conte said the hotel association “thought that if we offered a package, it would certainly encourage people who live in Westchester, but maybe even people in New York City who are looking to get out of the city for the day.”
Ruth predicted this summer could post stronger sales than last.
“People are feeling a lot more optimistic,” she said. “There was a lot of doom and gloom last year, but jobs have been created. The foreclosures are down. Gas prices are coming down.”
Some county operations have looked outside city limits to reel in out-of-towners to Westchester County ”“ like the Pound Ridge Golf Club, which just forged a cross-promotional partnership with the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
Golfers will be able to reserve tee times and arrange for transportation to the club through hotel concierges.
“The partnership with Marriott Marquis creates a powerful combination for golfers who want to play a nationally ranked golf course while experiencing one of New York City’s most spirited and vivacious areas,” said Pound Ridge Golf Club Owner Ken Wang, in a written statement.
Ruth said the county tourism office has no current plans to partner with Manhattan hotels for similar packages. “We want people to come here,” she said. “We”™re not looking to drive people out of Westchester.”
According to the Westchester County Tourism office, Westchester County accounted for 52.9 percent of direct tourism sales in the Hudson Valley region in 2008. Westchester”™s total share of direct visitor spending was more than $1.6 billion.
Hotels participating in Fit and Active include: Castle on the Hudson, Tarrytown; Comfort Inn and Suites, Hawthorne; Crowne Plaza, White Plains; Doral Arrowwood, Rye Brook; The DoubleTree Hotel, Tarrytown; Hilton Rye Town; Westchester Marriott, Tarrytown; Peekskill Inn; The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester; Sheraton Tarrytown Hotel; Tarrytown House Estate and Conference Center.
Westchester Hotel Association President Joe Santore said a donation from hotel room rentals will be made to the Friends of Westchester County Parks.
