Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago I shared with you a state-wide promotional campaign called “Roam the Empire”, which was a way for us to promote tourism and activities throughout the state, encouraging people to visit parts of NYS they may not have, and helping the tourism and hospitality industry, which has suffered financially throughout the pandemic. When I introduced this promotion to you, I shared some things that I like to do throughout the state, outside of Chenango County. Now that summer is in “full swing”, I wanted to take some time to talk to you about how great Chenango County is, and what we have to offer!

As the Tourism Promotion Agent (TPA) for Chenango County, our job at Commerce Chenango is to promote tourism, events, festivals, and businesses that relate to the tourism industry. We work to promote the entire county and offer programs like the I Love NY matching funds program. This is a way for our tourism properties and festival organizers, to get funding to assist with their marketing budgets, by paying only half of their advertising. This allows them to add to their marketing budget, and audience reach, with extra help from Empire State Development.

With a focus on Chenango County, I spoke with Audrey Robinson who is the designated Director of Tourism at Commerce Chenango, about how she felt our tourism program was going, and how we would fare this year with things opening back up. Since she is the expert in Chenango County, I asked her to provide some comments for this week’s column. Here is what she had to say:

“Some say there is no tourism in Chenango County, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Tourism is all around us.

True, we don’t have amusement parks, casino’s, sports stadiums, or an ocean view. What we do have is natural beauty, rivers, lakes, arts and theatre, museums, live music, hiking trails, wildlife and miles and miles of state land. Regardless of the season, Chenango County has something to offer. I think that those of us who live here every day take for granted the beauty and attractions all around us. Visitors come here for many reasons and it’s our job to make sure that we show them the best that we have to offer.

Recently, my brother visited from New Hampshire and brought his two grown children. They usually visit once or twice a year. Normally, it includes camping at Bowman Lake for the week, but this time they decided to stay with family. The highlight of their trip is always a visit to the Wolf Mountain Nature Center in Smyrna. Without fail, they were first in line when they opened on Fourth of July weekend!

Next, they visited the Northeast Classic Car Museum (took soooo many pictures) and had a great time. They also ate at two of our local restaurants during their stay. They were here just three days, and spent their New Hampshire dollars here in Chenango County! This is just one example of a family visit over a few days.

Now multiply that times all the families that spend money here for whatever reason they visit, or all of the visitors that choose to ‘Take the Path less Traveled’ to Chenango County. Visitors come to us for many reasons. In my case it was a family member visiting, but maybe they are enamored with the beauty of our trails and parks, our quiet open spaces, our unique attractions, and the friendliness of the people in our communities. No matter what time of year you visit, Chenango will always feel like ‘home’ to everyone.

We want everyone to know how privileged we are here in Chenango County! We should be sharing how amazing our communities are every opportunity we get. Every one of us can take some pride and responsibility to promote Chenango County. Yes, it is our job at Commerce Chenango to do this, but think of the impact we could have if we all took the initiative to help market and promote the unique experiences that are available here.

The tourism industry took one of the biggest hits during the pandemic, and as the third largest employer in the country, we need to make sure that we have the financial backing needed to bring it back to where it belongs. The total economic impact in NYS is $114.8 billion. Tourism drives economic growth, job creation, small business success, increased local and state tax revenues, improved quality of life and pride of place.

Tourism is not a budget expense; it is an investment in economic growth.

Tourism investments generate real financial returns for NYS and in turn Chenango County. It’s time to grow tourism in Chenango County, and let visitors know what we, and all of you already know – we have something great to offer.”

I would like to thank Audrey for sharing her passion and devotion to the tourism program here in Chenango County. As she said, we are always looking for more ways to stretch the budget we receive from the county to promote Chenango County.

For some perspective, we were allocated a little over $40,000 for the Chenango County 2021 Tourism Program. There are a number of required annual allocations that come out of this pot of money each year including the I Love NY Matching Funds program I mentioned earlier, investment into the tourism region and contributions into regional programs like the Southern Tier Brew Trail and the Southern Tier Water Trail. After our required annual contributions, we are left with about a quarter of our original allocation to promote Chenango County for the year.

Luckily with the increased use of digital marketing (and with Audrey’s clever budgeting skills) we have been able to stretch those dollars and make the most impact possible to attract visitors to our county. We have been looking for creative ways to add to our marketing dollars and hope with additional investment we can make an even bigger impact on local tourism, which will lead to more dollars being spent throughout the county.

Commerce Chenango may lead the Chenango County Tourism Program, but we all need to take pride and some initiative in showcasing our communities. Together we have the power to steer the conversation, be positive about the amazing place we live and what makes us unique and special. What hidden gems do you have in your backyard? Where do you go locally for a fun day out? When friends and family visit, where do you bring them? Share your story and together we can continue to build the tourism program here in Chenango County.

Be well, Chenango.

Kerri