Tourism in the Catskills Region, comprised of Ulster, Sullivan, Delaware and Greene counties, has not only rebounded from the Covid pandemic but has grown substantially from 2019 levels. According to a study of tourism in New York state by the Oxford Economics company Tourism Economics, in 2021 visitor spending grew to $1.9 billion and the tourism industry was responsible for 16,348 jobs. Spending by people visiting the Catskills region reached 123% of where it was in 2019.
The report found that visitors had a total impact of $85.5 billion on the state’s economy in 2021, 45% more than in 2020. Visitors supported 190,251 jobs in the food and beverage industry, 62,501 jobs in lodging, 60,502 in recreation and entertainment, and 40,040 in retail trade.
Ulster County did slightly better than the other Catskills counties with economic activity in tourism up 126% over 2019. Ulster had 44% of visitor spending compared with 7% for Delaware County, 12% for Greene County and 37% for Sullivan County.
Hotel Occupancy Taxes collected by Ulster County in 2021 increased 65.2% from where they were in 2019, setting an all-time high of more than $3.3 million. Overall taxes generated by tourism for Ulster came to $100,085,000 in 2021. For Sullivan County, the total tourism tax take was $84,643,000. Green County saw $28,737,000 in tax generation while taxes generated by tourism in Delaware County came to $17,003,000.
“People love to visit Ulster County to experience our natural areas, arts and cultural activities, acclaimed restaurants, and relaxing retreats,” said Acting Ulster County Executive Johanna Contreras. “These offerings attract visitors from around the world and also drive our economy, providing thousands of jobs and generating revenue.”
The Tourism Economics report found that in the Catskills 12.9% of all labor income in 2021 was generated by tourism, a slight increase from the 11.3% that had been generated by tourism in 2020. Sullivan led the other counties and was dependent on tourism for 16.9% of all labor income.
In looking at visitor spending in Upstate New York, the report by Tourism Economics covered nine regions. In addition to the Catskills, they were the Hudson Valley, Chautauqua-Allegheny, Niagara, Finger Lakes, Thousand Islands, Adirondacks, Central New York, and Capital-Saratoga.
The report found that the Hudson Valley had the most visitor spending at 19% of the total, followed by Central New York at 18% and the Finger Lakes at 16%.
When the Upstate New York regions were included with New York City and Long Island for a look at visitor spending in the entire state, it was found that 50% of the visitor spending took place in New York City and 11% was on Long Island. The Catskills were responsible for 4% of total statewide visitor spending while the Hudson Valley accounted for 7% of the spending.
Even though it did comparatively well within the Catskills Region, Ulster County has taken steps to try to generate even more visitor spending and overall tourist activity. The Ulster County Tourism Department unveiled a new Ulster County Tourism website. The new website, visitulstercountyny.com includes trip-planning tools, accommodation booking and links for making reservations at popular area parks.
The Ulster County Tourism Department recently received two 2022 New York State Tourism Excellence Awards, one for overall tourism marketing and the other the creative use of data in marketing.
“Over the course of the pandemic, people sought refuge in our beautiful open spaces and warm hospitality, and that”™s evident in the latest data,” Ulster County Legislator Brian Cahill said. “The website will be a critical tool to allow people from an ever-growing market area to connect with our great outdoors, our unique farm to table experiences and to engage in experiences that provide wellness, musical and artistic renewal while visiting here.”
Herb Litts, who also serves on the county legislature, pointed out that the new website features farm-oriented activities in the country such as apple picking.
“Making family memories is what our agritourism businesses are all about,” Litts said. “The new Ulster County Tourism website really showcases our bounty, and I”™d encourage folks to check out the Things To Do section, which has a specific page just for our farms and fresh produce, making it easy for people to find all that is grown in our fields.”
