Not 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