Tourism Benefit To County

Keeps Growing, Study Says

COOPERSTOWN – With the county Board of Representatives due to vote Wednesday, Aug. 3, on extending a tourism-promotion contract, the state Division of tourism & Tourism Economics has released a survey showing the sector continues to grow in Otsego County.

The percentage of state and local taxes generated from the Otsego County tourism industry nearly doubled in 2015, according to Destination Marketing of Otsego County, the privatized tourism-promotion effort.

Local tourism taxes – sales, occupancy and property – totaled $13,604,697, up 7.4 percent from 2014, when the total was $12,661,761. That number represented a 3.5 percent increase from 2013.

State coffers benefited from Otsego’s tourism industry taxes, as well. The state collected $10,258,194 in revenues related to the county’s tourism industry. The 2013 – 2014 increase was 4.4 percent.

“Were it not for tourism-generated state and local taxes, the average household in Otsego County would have to pay an additional $966 to maintain the same level of government revenue,” the report states.

Visitor spending in Otsego County increased 5.4 percent to $184,976 million. The 2014 visitor spend figure was $175,573 million. Lodging represents the largest segment of visitor spending ($56,833 million), followed by Food & Beverage ($52,247). Recreation; Retail & Service Stations; Transportation; and Second Homes are other segments included in visitor spending.

The tourism industry provided county residents with 3,427 jobs (both direct and indirect), a slight increase over 2014. According to the report, tourism in Otsego County generated 9.5 percent of all labor income in Central New York in 2015.

“We’ve seen a steady increase in all our numbers over the years, but never such a dramatic increase as in 2015,” stated Jim Miles, chair of the DMCOC.

Travel spending in Central New York Region rose 3.7 percent.  Otsego County is a member of Central New York Region, along with Broome, Chenango, Herkimer, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida and Schoharie counties.