Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics company, recently released their annual report on the economic impact of visitors in New York which highlighted significant 2020 losses in visitor spending, jobs and wages suffered by the tourism and hospitality industry as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report showed visitor spending decreased 53.9% statewide, 42% in the Hudson Valley region and 38% in Dutchess County. The Hudson Valley remained the third leading region in the state for visitor spending behind New York City and Long Island.
Following ten consecutive years of growth in spending, visitors contributed $417.8 million to Dutchess County’s economy, down from $674.2 million in 2019. Food and beverage remained the top area of visitor spending bringing in $127.4 million to county businesses.
In addition to spending on lodging, dining, shopping, area attractions and transportation, visitors contributed $40.2 million in local taxes, down just 12.3% from 2019. According to the report, each household in Dutchess County would need to be taxed an additional $607 to replace the visitor taxes received by state and local governments in 2020.
Tourism also supported 8,050 jobs within Dutchess with combined wages of $315.9 million making up 5.1% of all labor income in the county in 2020.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said, “The resilience of Dutchess County’s tourism and hospitality business owners and their dedicated staff members deserve our appreciation as they work day in and day out to continue to provide memorable experiences for residents and visitors despite the difficult circumstances of the past 19 months.” He added, “Tourism is an important part of our economy and we’re happy to see it rebounding so quickly in 2021. We appreciate the unwavering efforts of Dutchess Tourism’s professional staff led by Melaine Rottkamp to attract visitors to our county and support our friends and neighbors whose livelihoods depend on a robust visitor economy.”
Dutchess Tourism, Inc. (DTI), an independent 501c6 non-profit organization, is the officially designated destination marketing organization for Dutchess County. It is accredited by Destinations International and is responsible for promoting the area to a global audience.
DTI President & CEO Melaine Rottkamp noted that a lack of inbound international visitors, who stay longer and spend three times as much as domestic travelers, continues to negatively impact Dutchess County’s economy.
“Normally, people come here from all over the world specifically to experience our major attractions including the Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, The Culinary Institute of America, Walkway Over the Hudson, Dia Beacon, and performances at Bard College’s Fisher Center,” she said. “We are encouraged by the White House’s statement a few weeks ago that fully vaccinated international visitors will be able to come to the United States beginning in November though no date has been announced.”
Rottkamp said she and her team have remained in contact with international travel partners and with COVID still in mind, they are enthusiastically looking forward to coming to Dutchess to experience “New York’s Backyard” with its wide-open spaces, hiking and biking trails and gorgeous views.
To attract visitors, DTI utilizes a multi-pronged, research-based and targeted marketing strategy to raise awareness of Dutchess County and its tourism assets. This includes digital, print, television and radio advertising, primarily in the New York City-metro area and Mid-Atlantic region as well as ads and articles in national magazines and international publications. DTI also prints and distributes 90,000 free copies of their award-winning Discover Dutchess Destination Guide annually along with companion brochures including a craft beverage trail and map, farm finder guide, bike tour guide, and contemporary art guide available by request.
DTI is active on social media, attracting thousands of followers across all the major platforms, and produces videos to highlight events as well as experiences. Last year, 1.3 million people visited the organization’s website, DutchessTourism.com, where they found full details on attractions as well as events, itineraries, spotlights and more.
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ABOUT DUTCHESS TOURISM, INC.
Dutchess Tourism, Inc. is the officially designated destination marketing organization for Dutchess County and is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of Destinations International. It is an independent 501c6 non-profit organization that works to bring tourism dollars to area businesses by marketing and promoting the assets of Dutchess County to the nation and the world. The office is located at 3 Neptune Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie with 17 Tourist Information Centers located around Dutchess County. The website is DutchessTourism.com and they can be reached at 845-463-4000. Dutchess Tourism, Inc. is partially funded by monies received from the County of Dutchess.
TOURISM ECONOMICS
Tourism Economics, headquartered in Philadelphia, is an Oxford Economics company dedicated to providing high value, robust, and relevant analyses of the tourism sector that reflects the dynamics of local and global economies. By combining quantitative methods with industry knowledge, Tourism Economics designs custom market strategies, project feasibility analysis, tourism forecasting models, tourism policy analysis, and economic impact studies. The Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) input-output model was used for this report for New York State; it’s utilized worldwide by governments, universities, and public and private sector organizations. The model follows the flow of sales through the economy to the generation of GDP, employment, wages and taxes. Tourismeconomics.com.
OXFORD ECONOMICS
Oxford Economics is one of the world’s foremost independent global advisory firms, providing reports, forecasts and analytical tools on 200 countries, 100 industrial sectors and over 3,000 cities. Founded in 1981 as a joint venture with Oxford University’s business college, Oxford Economics is founded on a reputation for high quality, quantitative analysis and evidence-based advice. For this, it draws on its own staff of 150 highly-experienced professional economists; a dedicated data analysis team; global modeling tools; close links with Oxford University, and a range of partner institutions in Europe, the US and in the United Nations Project Link.
