The North Country Chamber of Commerce and ROOST (Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism) have announced the endorsement of one another’s plans to assist with recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

ROOST recently released its “Adirondack Tourism Strategy: Pathway Forward,” outlining strategies and approaches to transform the way it markets the northern Adirondack region as the state begins to move toward eventual economic reopening, including resumed travel activity.

The North Country Chamber also recently released “North Country Forward: A
Plan for Supporting Business Reopening in the North Country,” committing to
a multifaceted agenda of business support services before and during the
reopening of various business sectors.

“The North Country Chamber and ROOST have had a great working partnership
for many years,” states Garry Douglas, Chamber President. “We are now
committed to an active working collaboration through this new challenge
which is confronting thousands of North Country businesses and
organizations. We have both known for years that partnership is
indispensable to success in our region, and this is clearly one of those
times when the whole will exceed the sum of the parts.”

“ROOST and the North Country Chamber will implement a coordinated strategy
to assist our region’s businesses and communities in taking the best steps
forward to ensure economic recovery,” said James McKenna, CEO of ROOST. “We
will work in concert with New York State, our counties and local
governments, our public health authorities, and our medical facilities to
make certain that the best and most relevant programs are implemented as we
move forward to secure sustainable economic growth.”

ROOST is a regional destination marketing organization, overseeing tourism
marketing and destination management in Essex and Hamilton counties, the
Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake regions of Franklin County, and Piercefield of
St. Lawrence County. The North Country Chamber is a full-service business
and economic development organization serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin,
Hamilton and northern Warren counties and Akwesasne.

“We have different but highly complementary missions and our continued
cooperation and sharing will benefit the entire region, especially those
counties where we have a shared commitment to service and success,” notes
Douglas.

“Our partnership will ensure the Adirondacks and the North Country’s
distinguished characteristics are highlighted and a coordinated approach is
taken to re-imagine our region’s economy,” says McKenna.

Among expected areas of collaboration will be informational services and
training programs for businesses, as well as coordination of business
community input for various federal, state, and local planning processes.
Weekly consultations between the two partner organizations will share
information and identify on-going opportunities.