Adirondack tourism officials say marketing cuts are bad for the region, bad for the state

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Between marketing money for the Adirondacks and a Gateway Center on the Northway just south of the Canadian border, the region would lose nearly $700,000 in Gov. Paterson’s budget.

It’s just a tiny fraction of state spending, but Ron Ofner says the return is huge. He’s executive director of the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council.

We’re looking at $1.2 billion in visitor spending. We’re looking at close to $150 million in local and state sales tax revenue as a result of that visitor spending.

Ofner says this kind of return from state spending can help New York close its budget gap. And he says it’s just a bad idea to cut funding to programs—like tourism—that generate so much revenue for the state.

The biggest beneficiary, though, may be the Park itself. Citing data compiled by SUNY Plattsburgh’s Technical Assistance Center, Ofner says every dollar that goes into marketing generates 86 dollars spent by tourists in the Adirondacks.

That’s everything from a place to stay to a candy bar. He says these purchases make tourism the biggest economic engine in the Park.

And we’re also looking at tourism employment in the Adirondack region of over 20,000 jobs. That’s a big number. How do you qualify that? That’s from the census, and that’s looking at jobs, what they consider the tourism industry. So it’s obviously lodging and campgrounds, restaurants. I believe they even include gas stations in that mix.

He says the Tourism Council is aggressively lobbying state lawmakers to restore funding, for marketing and the Beekmantown Gateway Center. The building just off the southbound lanes of Interstate 87 plays an important role in promoting the Adirondacks. Ofner says the center’s staff members steer many tourists to destinations within the Park:

What we’re finding is that the majority of visitors coming down from Canada are first-time visitors. A lot of people are just popping down for the day, y’know, looking for things to do. They stop in our area and that’s where they learn about the Plattsburgh Beach and the shopping opportunities in Plattsburgh or what’s available in the Lake George or Lake Placid area.

According to Ofner, closing this center would mean the Adirondack Regional Tourism Council would miss lots of opportunities to reach potential visitors.

Without that center being open, people will simply continue on south to their southerly destinations and not get an opportunity to experience what we have to offer in the beautiful Adirondacks.

As state lawmakers grapple with a projected $9-billion deficit, Ofner says they should take another look at restoring money for tourism marketing. He characterizes it as a small investment, with a big pay off for the state and local economies.