Report: Tourism saves Essex households annual $3,800 in taxes

ELIZABETHTOWN | Essex was the only county in the state to experience tourism growth in 2020, which included the spring shutdown of commerce due to COVID-19, according to a new state report. The annual report, produced by Empire State Development, also demonstrated how critical tourism is to Essex County residents, even those who don't work in the field. Were it not for tourism revenue, the average Essex County household would be on the hook for an additional $3,800 in taxes to maintain the same level of government services, the report states. The year-over-year Essex County tourism spending increase in 2020 wasn't much, just .1%, but it stood in sharp contrast with the state overall, which suffered a 54% decline in tourism spending, said Jim McKenna, CEO of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism. Other areas of the park didn't fare as well — Clinton County, which was negatively affected by the closure of the Canadian border, saw travel spending drop off by 24%, and Warren County also experienced a double-digit loss of 15%. The pandemic interrupted what had been a steadily increasing trendline of tourism spending statewide. "The 2020 visitor and visitor spending results have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Both the limitations and restrictions to mobility, as well as economic disruptions, hit travel hard," the report states. "Losses to businesses and residents were significant; however, the pandemic has highlighted tourism's importance to the state and underscores the potential once normalcy returns." The report also indicates that tourism makes up more than a third of the Essex County economy, and 17% of its jobs. In 2020, Essex just overtook Warren County as the leading generator of Adirondack tourism. Essex was responsible for 39% of Adirondack tourism spending, Warren, which includes the popular tourist town of Lake George, was right behind at 38%. Clinton County is third, with 8%, and Hamilton and Franklin counties each generated 6%. "I think it's significant because it affects a lot of ripple areas, (including) employment and other areas overall," McKenna said. "Essex County total direct employment, direct and induced from tourism, was $214 million last year, about 35% of our employment economy in our county — and also it generates quite a bit of taxes, both statewide and for our county." All but essential commerce was shut down in March 2020, activity that didn't start to resume until early summer. But outdoor activities such as hiking were identified early on as being relatively safe, and the result was a surge in hiking and in the use of B&Bs and short-term rentals that minimized contact with strangers. Overall, travelers spend $1.3 billion in the Adirondacks in 2020, down 15% from 2019. Lodging was the biggest beneficiary of travel dollars, with tourists spending 42% of their money on places to stay. Food and beverage make up 20%, with the spending on seasonal second-homes at 19%. McKenna said that the numbers indicate marketing pays off. "We think the messaging we put in the marketplace, and how we aggressively work to get our residents as well as our visitors to understand the situation certainly helped," he said. "So, I think that we're pretty happy with that."

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Report: Tourism saves Essex households annual $3,800 in taxes

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