ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — In early July, New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released his third report on the state’s post-pandemic tourism situation across the state. Nearly every finding in the report points to continued growth in domestic and international travelers and tourism-related revenues, including in our region.
One striking element of the report was the lackluster job growth in tourism and hospitality, one of the few metrics in the Comptroller’s report that hasn’t fully recovered or surpassed pre-pandemic numbers. This is despite the fact that average annual wages have risen 11.6% in these sectors since the pandemic, according to the Comptroller’s Office.
Don Jeffries, president and CEO of the Rochester Tourism Bureau, said many who worked in the industry found alternative jobs when their jobs were halted because of the pandemic.
“People who were in the hospitality industry were working nights and weekends, but when the pandemic hit they found other opportunities – jobs that didn’t require them to work nights and weekends. But the industry itself is adapting to the labour shortage by adjusting its opening hours and the number of days it operates.”
The adjusted hours and days of operation have not affected how much people spend when they visit, either. According to Visit Rochester’s 2022 Annual Report, the most recent available, Monroe County alone saw tourism-related economic impact of $1.72 billion in 2022. Sectors such as food and beverage, lodging, recreation and retail all also exceeded 2019 levels.
Visitation is also up, especially at state parks, which saw 2.7 million visitors, according to the Comptroller’s report. State parks in the Finger Lakes region, defined in the report as Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Ontario and Yates counties, saw an 11.8% increase over 2019.
Many of these visitors come from other states, making Rochester and the surrounding area what Jeffries calls a “drive market.”
“We’re a driving market. You know, a third of the population of the country lives within a five-hour drive of Rochester, N.Y.,” Jeffries says. “Pittsburgh, Washington, New York City. We get a significant number of travelers from New York City. And we’re seeing a significant increase in inflow traffic into Atlanta.”
Another big area of growth across the state, and in our region in particular, is agritourism. The Finger Lakes region is home to 126 farms, the second-most in the state, that offer opportunities for visitors to get involved and are expected to bring in more than $20 million in revenue in 2022. The Finger Lakes region is the only region in the state with the second-most farms at 181, but only just over half of the farms in the region generate revenue.
And at the end of the day…
“People want to travel. They’ve been quarantined and locked down and now they want to travel,” Jeffries said.
