Warren Co. officials cite tourism rebound

QUEENSBURY | Warren County Administrator John Taflan assured county supervisors Aug. 15 that tourism in Lake George isn't as poor this summer as reported in newscasts aired recently by all three Capital District television stations. In recent weeks, the newscasts had interviewed Lake George business owners describing how tourism had slumped, with some of them citing President Trump's announcement of how he was imposing tariffs as high as 35 percent. Also, national television newscasts had recently broadcast interviews with hoteliers and short-term rental entrepreneurs who cited sharp decreases in bookings by Canadians due to Trump's talk of annexing Canada as our nation's 51st state. One Lake George restaurant owner expressed that reasoning for how her restaurant's patronage had dropped 75 percent so far this summer. In a different newscast, another restaurant owner said his patronage had decreased 40 to 50 percent, and that this summer was his "slowest season in 30 years." Taflan told local officials attending the Aug. 15 county Board of Supervisors meeting that although tourism in Lake George during May and June was slower than expected, he had heard from people at a recent Lake George Chamber of Commerce meeting that a rebound in local tourism was underway. "Foot traffic in Bolton appears to be good. Lake George is down a little bit, but the temperatures have been pretty hot, which might account for that," he said. "July has been record-setting for some (businesses) and August looks really strong — It looks like there's going to be some recovery in the tourist season." Lake George Supervisor Vinnie Crocitto offered even more positive news at the Aug. 15 meeting. Crocitto said he had heard from county treasurer Christine Norton that occupancy tax proceeds — revenue from the county's hotels, motels, inns and short-term rentals — had increased 6 percent year-to-date over last year, up from $866,000 to about $921,000 during comparable periods from January through June. Weeks earlier, Crocitto, whose family owns several motels and the Lake George Holiday Inn, said his enterprises had occupancy rates this summer similar to previous years. He said the drop in Canadian tourism experienced by some businesses might be attributable to unfavorable exchange rates between Canadian and American dollars, which was recently as high as 32 percent. "If you bring the exchange rate down to 10 percent, you're going to see an influx of Canadian visitors," he said. Crocitto has also blamed this spring's rainy weather for any decrease in tourism, an opinion expressed by several other county supervisors. In other business conducted at the Aug. 15 county board meeting, the supervisors: • appropriated a total of up to $340,180, as needed, for the next 12 months to several area social service organizations to address local impact of the opioid epidemic — including $41,847 to River Street Center of Troy/Albany for substance abuse intervention services, $83,333 to ASCEND Mental Wellness of Hudson Falls, $175,000 to the Council for Prevention in Hudson Falls, and $40,000 to the Glens Falls City School District for similar purposes; • authorized an agreement with the Thurman Snowmobile Club to allow their members to use the county railroad right-of-way stretching from the town of Stony Creek to a destination in Johnsburg; • authorized the county Department of Public Works to spend $125,000 on sealing pavement cracks and spend $425,000 to replace guiderails along county highways; and • approved allocating $19,000 to the county Attorney's office, $10,000 to the Sheriff's office and $10,000 to the county Information Technology Department for the purchase of computer equipment and programs.

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Warren Co. officials cite tourism rebound

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