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Economic Impact of Tourism – Adirondacks 2008

April 6th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Destination Marketing

New York DollarsNot a whole lot has changed since last year’s report.  Scratch that, almost everything is different, just the tourism marketing remains the same.  It’s cool to be able to buy your own ROI study.  (Did you know that penning nice ROI studies can get you contracts and advisory roles?)  Here are the New York State and Adirondack highlights as I see them:

  • NYS Tourism Growth Slows – 2008 Spending only grew by 4%, compared to 10% the previous year.
  • $53 Billion in NYS Tourism Spending in 2008
  • Tourism Contributed 4.1% of NYS GDP for 2008, 6.2% of all jobs
  • Tourism Generated $14.3 Billion in Tax Revenue ($7 Billion NYS and Local)
  • NYC, Long Island, Hudson Valley comprise 79% of Total Spend – Adirondacks only 2%
  • Tourism Generates 17% of the Adirondack Region’s Employment
  • Visitors Spent $1.2 Billion and Supported over 20,000 jobs in the Adirondacks
  • Warren County represents 45% of the Region’s Tourism Spend
  • Visitors Spending Growth  – Clinton 10%, Essex 8.9%, Franklin 6%, Hamilton 2.2%, Lewis 0%, Warren 3.9%
  • 51.9% of Total Labor Income in Hamilton County is from Tourism
  • 40% of Jobs in Hamilton County are Tourism Related, 35% in Essex County
  • Tourism in the Adirondacks generated $152 Million in State and Local Tax Revenue
  • Travelers Paid $78 Million in Occupancy Tariffs

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4 Comments so far ↓

  • R Neugarten

    I am having trouble finding the original study (or web site) where this information came from – can you post a link or citation?

  • TourPro

    You can find the report at thebeat.iloveny.com/industry, registration is required.

  • Chrisso

    I read a report about the costs of traveling nowadays compared to a few years back. The peak in the cost of an airplane ticket was in 2001 if I remember correctly, but now they are cheaper than they were even back then, without even calculating the inflation. The point is that now it is worth it more than ever to travel.

  • TourPro

    True, the relative cost of travel remains a value. However, aspirational-type travel is clearly related to disposable income and I’m afraid that impact is yet to arrive.

    People are reevaluating their travel goals. Trips are getting shorter, and closer to home. The takeaway is also more focused on social experiences rather than “paid” experiences. Given these trends, I’m hopeful the Adirondacks is well positioned for the new travel future.

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