Tourism Impact Study numbers reflect a robust industry

PLATTSBURGH | Gov. Hochul's office recently announced that New York State's investment in tourism is paying big dividends following a rough few years. I Love NY, in conjunction with Tourism Economics, released their 2021 Tourism Impact Study showing the effect tourism has on New York State, the Adirondack Region and Clinton County. The total economic impact of tourism statewide reached $85.5 billion, about 71 percent of the 2019 levels, and a 53 percent growth over 2020. NEW YORK STATE TOURISM Visitor spending was $52 billion in 2021, up 53 percent from 2020 The industry generated $7.5 billion in state and local sales tax U.S domestic markets supplied 59 percent ($47 billion) of visitors Canadian travelers grew by 81 percent in 2021, up 51 percent from 2019 Tourism remains the state's third largest industry, supporting close to one million jobs in Clinton County Along with the state tourism spending breakdowns, the study also shows how the counties in the Adirondacks are stacking up. Once again, Clinton County tourism boasts some very impressive economic impact numbers for 2021, contributing greatly to overall tourism spending and to local and state sales tax. This shows that the county is a very viable player in the tourism make-up of the Adirondack Region: $151,000,000 in traveler spending, up 49 percent over 2019 $8,292,000 collected in state taxes, up 33 percent over 2019 $10,931,000 contributed to local taxes, up 24 percent over 2019 $64,000,000 in labor income Kristy Kennedy, VP of Marketing at the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau and North Country Chamber of Commerce, as well as The Tourism Promotion Agency for Clinton County via I Love NY, states, "These are welcome numbers for Clinton County tourism. They speak highly of the marketing programs we are implementing daily and show our strong relationship with our Canadian and domestic visitors. It showed that while we navigated uncertain times, our decisions were correct and helped put us in a favorable position. I could not be more pleased to see the strong showing for Clinton County and can only imagine the positive numbers 2022 will bring." ADIRONDACK REGION TOURISM Comprising the counties of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Warren, the Adirondack Region also saw very strong numbers: $1,000,936,000 in traveler spending, up 48 percent over 2019 $102,566,000 collected in state taxes, up 37 percent over 2019 $130,866,000 contributed to local taxes, up 30 percent over 2019 $483,000,000 in direct labor income, 18,840 jobs total "Everyone knows that visitor spending is important in our region in terms of tax receipts and jobs, but it is always good to have numbers that help to verify just how large the impact is," said Garry Douglas, President of the North Country Chamber of Commerce. "With effective shifts in marketing toward downstate during the pandemic and now with the strong return of our Canadian friends over the summer, it is clear every resident in the area benefits from the impact, including enjoying many stores and businesses we wouldn't have been it not for our visitors. Our thanks to the Clinton County Legislature and to New York State for their continued support, to our Visitors Bureau staff for their able marketing, and to all our hospitality-related businesses who have carried on through unprecedented challenges and are providing a positive, welcoming experience every day."

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Tourism Impact Study numbers reflect a robust industry

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