April 1 marks the beginning of trout season, with hordes of fishermen (and women) ready to cast their lots hook, line and sinker.
On April 2, Dutchess County will try to figure out how to keep those hordes coming year-round.
Skip Storch, owner of Shu-Fly Fishing Lure in Nanuet, says fishing may become much more than a recreational sport this year, thanks to the recession.
“It”™s not uncommon to see the number of fisherman go up during lean times,” said Storch, now in his second season at his new location on Middletown Road. “People fish for recreation, and during a down time; it”™s especially relaxing and helps a person get away from it all. For others, it will definitely be a way to stretch their food budget.” But for Storch, it”™s been “business as usual ”“ people don”™t stop fishing whether the economy is boom or bust.”
Dutchess County Tourism will be a hosting an all-day regional conference on Wednesday, April 2, at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, where topics will include how to attract tourists during what may be a very dry season for those who depend on tourism dollars. The Hudson Valley may be awash in beauty, but when it comes to liquid assets, many are clutching their wallets tightly.
How to showcase the best in the region and attract visitors will be the all-day symposium”™s focus. Industry professionals will share their expertise on how to roll out big ideas using small budgets and ways to attract visitors through direct mailing.
Guest speakers will include Gail Alofsin, director of corporate partnerships for Newport Harbor Corp.; Sean Fitzgerald, vice president of business development for Spectrum Creative Solutions; Tara Sullivan, executive director of the Quadricentennial Celebration; and David Hoffman of Thompson & Bender, who will discuss the Internet market.
A presentation is planned on the newest market research from the ”˜I Love New York” state Division of Tourism.
The conference is intended to provide information to organizations and help businesses be as efficient and profitable as they can be in the upcoming 2008 tourism season, plus how to prepare for the Hudson River exploration”™s 400th birthday party in 2009.
One event sure to boost tourism for Henry Hudson”™s trip up the Hudson on the Half Moon will be the Empire State Games, scheduled to be held in the mid-Hudson region next year.
The event draws thousands of competitors, their families and friends, to local venues wherever events across the Olympic spectrum are held. Organizers are hoping the games will not only boost spending, but will complement events planned around the Quadricentennial celebrations planned along Henry Hudson”™s eponymous river, beginning in New York City all the way up to Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondacks.
