There are a few topics that rear their ugly heads in the newspaper from time to time that I’m always sure will raise the hackles of our readership no matter what is said about them. Abortion. Gun control. Same-sex marriage. The death penalty. Tourism.

Yep, tourism. Utter the word, and I guarantee you’ll get a spirited response, no matter how one feels about the subject. On Thursday, Melissa deCordova did a pair of stories about the subject, showing how state funding for tourism has been cut, and how Chenango County has been largely left out of the proverbial loop.

Mention “tourism,” and invariably the response from the native populace is “You’ve got to be kidding.” That’s because, I surmise, most people equate tourism with DisneyWorld – as if someone has the vision that if we try hard enough, or spend enough money, we will someday have busloads of Japanese tourists, cameras in hand, milling about our rural environs and gaping in awe and wonderment as if we were indeed the Happiest Place on Earth.