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It’s amazing what a difference a week makes. Saturday March 15th while a lot of people were attending the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Scranton attempting to get a view of Senator Hillary Clinton walking in the parade, I took the opportunity to make a few turns at Ski Big Bear at Masthope Mountain. It was a great day, while a little overcast, the snow was soft and easy to turn on, and the slopes were uncrowded. After two hours of nonstop runs (eleven in total), I enjoyed a leisurely lunch and great conversation with the owners of the ski area.

Then, fast forward to this weekend, daylight savings, and warmer weather and all of a sudden the golf courses are open. Saturday March 22nd with an afternoon high of 46 degrees I took the opportunity to hit two buckets of balls at Mountain Manor Golf Club and then on Easter Sunday, after a very lavish brunch at The Inn at Pocono Manor, I managed to get in 18 holes at Cherry Valley Golf Course. I can’t report a score as I needed to take way to many mulligans to make it around the course. All this got me thinking….what other kinds of outdoor activities are people participating in here in the Pocono Mountains during the spring? I would certainly like to hear what you like to do this time of year, and where you like to do it.

Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to attend four consumer trade shows at which the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau was exhibiting: New York Adventure Show, New York Times Travel Show, Washington DC Golf Show, and the Outdoor Sports Show in Harrisburg. In every case there seemed to be three very distinct types of people I engaged in conversations. First, those who knew of the Pocono Mountains, had visited recently and plan to return. Obviously, this is the kind of people we like to see. Secondly, was the group who knew of the Pocono Mountains, have visited in the past, but for any number of reasons, have chosen not to visit recently. Lastly, those that know of the Pocono Mountains but have never visited. It is these last two groups to whom we need to become relevant. Fortunately enough these represent close in markets so from a proximity point the Pocono Mountains are a nearby market. Our job is to convince many of those that have not been here for a long time or not at all, that the Pocono Mountains have something for them.

In today's environment, NICHE marketing is the new buzz word. Simply stated, we need to communicate to the consumer with the images they want to see, in the magazines and websites they use, address the activities they want to do, and places they want to visit. So as we launch our sales and marketing efforts over the next several months and throughout the fall, you'll see the Pocono Mountains positioned in a more specific way. As a destination for golf, camping, fishing, hiking, family gatherings, etc.. I'd be interested in hearing what are your favorite activities to do in the Pocono Mountains.