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County Tourism Summit to Visit Economic Issues

11/20/2008

Source: Syracuse.com

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Onondaga County tourism officials expect 2009 to be a challenging year because of the impact that the economic slowdown could have on their industry.

"Absolutely," said David Holder, president of the Syracuse Convention & Visitors Bureau. "And I'm not saying that just for Syracuse. It's going to be harder for everyone out there."

The bureau plans to hold a tourism summit on Friday at the Holiday Inn in Salina to discuss issues affecting the local tourism industry. And tops on the agenda will be the economy.

Holder said travel agents, hotel operators, government officials and others involved in tourism will discuss ways to lure visitors to the county despite the economic slowdown, which has caused a rise in unemployment nationally and in New York.

People will still travel next year, but they are going to be pickier about where they go and how much they spend, he said.

"Business travel is still going to take place, convention travel is still going to take place and certainly leisure travel is still going to take place," he said.

"One of the defining points about our modern society is we view travel almost as a mandate. Much of that is the mental recuperation that takes place when we travel. We all get stressed out with our lives, and certainly travel represents one of those ways to just get away from that."

One way to persuade people to travel to Onondaga County is to emphasize in its marketing the area's affordability compared with many larger markets, he said.

"Our area has historically rated very well in terms of value," he said.

He said Syracuse's location in the central part of the state, with access from Interstate 81 and the Thruway, make it an easy place to get to.

"Most of our meetings or conventions are state or regionally focused, and we're a centralized place," he said. "It's easy for people to get here, no matter what part of the state they're coming from."

The bureau launched a marketing program this year that was directed at Albany, Scranton, Pa., and Ottawa - three areas within less than a day's drive of Syracuse. The campaign will be continued next year.

"We've just touched those markets with what we've done in 2008," said Holder. "We can do a whole lot more. There are plenty of opportunities to capitalize on and to stress the reasons for travel."

Holder said shopping is the No. 1 reason people visit the county, and it's the No. 1 activity they engage in while they are here, no matter why they came.

But they also come for conventions and meetings, sporting events, recreational opportunities, arts and culture, he said.

The bureau has invited more than 1,000 tourism industry representatives to the summit, the second time it has held an event of this type.

Staff writer Rick Moriarty can be reached at 470-3148 or rmoriarty@syracuse.com.