Ulster County adds $25,000 to tourism contract to market biking and rail‑trail visits

Ulster County’s committee on June 3 approved a $25,000 amendment to a contract with marketing firm Medium Giant to promote sustainable tourism with a focus on biking and rail‑trail visitation.

The tourism director, identified in the meeting as Director Berger, explained the amendment would reallocate $25,000 from a different budget line to fund “asset collection” and media capture so the county can promote itself as a biking destination. Berger said the firm will capture video and produce digital content: “This they are coming here to capture video... they're gonna be capturing mostly video for us to be using on our website in social media.”

Committee members discussed mountain biking and rail‑trail assets across the county, including recent trail openings and events. Legislator Nolan highlighted new mountain‑biking trails in the Shandaken Wild Forest and said Ulster County is increasingly becoming a destination for mountain biking, and Parks & Trails New York chose Kingston for its annual conference in part because of the county’s trail network. Director Berger said the production plan had been modified to avoid filming on roads without safe biking routes and to focus on corridors with safe access.

The amendment was moved and approved by the committee on a voice vote. The resolution narrative noted a prior Medium Giant contract had funded accessibility work via grant funding; this $25,000 uses county budget lines to accelerate digital marketing efforts.

Why it matters: The county is investing in tourism marketing to leverage rail trails and mountain‑biking growth to attract visitors; the digital campaign aims to produce video assets for social media and the county website to promote sustainable visitation while avoiding unsafe on‑road filming.