The show is not going on for many Broadway productions, but things appear to be business as usual for area travel companies.
The Associated Press
Street vendor Yelena Lobova stands by her table of merchandise in New York's Times Square. Lobova said usually people buy pictures of Times Square, but since now nobody is seeing shows, nobody is buying pictures.
Street vendor Yelena Lobova stands by her table of merchandise in New York's Times Square. Lobova said usually people buy pictures of Times Square, but since now nobody is seeing shows, nobody is buying pictures.
With talks breaking down between Broadway producers and stagehands, it looks as if no end is in sight for the 10-day strike that has forced 27 musicals to close. The closures have occurred during one of New York City's biggest times of the year for tourism, and the strike is costing the city $17 million a day from lost revenue, according to estimates from the League of American Theaters and Producers.
Yet central New York travel agencies and tour companies have not felt the same financial sting. Even though Broadway is a major draw for both in-and-out-of-state tourists, there is enough to do in Manhattan during the holidays to keep the buses full.
AAA spokesperson Diana Dibble said “very few people” who booked trips through the company's travel agencies in western and central New York have been impacted by canceled musicals. Some individual customers have purchased trip packages that included tickets to a musical, Dibble said. In those cases, the cost of the tickets has been refunded.
“There are so many other activities in New York City this time of year,” she said. “It is still a big draw for tourists.”
One of those activities is Radio City Music Hall's “Christmas Spectacular,” which runs through Dec. 30 and is not affected by the stagehand strike. Mike Oster owns Auburn-based charter and tour company Onondaga Coach, and said the Radio City show is one of the biggest draws for his customers during the holiday season.
Oster said he is not aware of any customers cancelling a trip because of the closures. He added that Onondaga Coach tends to sell more trips that include Broadway musicals in February or March than this time of year,
“It's hard to say how much of this really affects charter customers,” Oster said. “I don't anticipate this to be a big problem for us.”
And according to Dibble, the closures may not have as much of an impact on upstate residents than on tourists who are more than a day's drive away from Manhattan.
“Due to our proximity to New York City, there is always the opportunity to experience a Broadway musical in the future,” Dibble said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
Yet central New York travel agencies and tour companies have not felt the same financial sting. Even though Broadway is a major draw for both in-and-out-of-state tourists, there is enough to do in Manhattan during the holidays to keep the buses full.
AAA spokesperson Diana Dibble said “very few people” who booked trips through the company's travel agencies in western and central New York have been impacted by canceled musicals. Some individual customers have purchased trip packages that included tickets to a musical, Dibble said. In those cases, the cost of the tickets has been refunded.
“There are so many other activities in New York City this time of year,” she said. “It is still a big draw for tourists.”
One of those activities is Radio City Music Hall's “Christmas Spectacular,” which runs through Dec. 30 and is not affected by the stagehand strike. Mike Oster owns Auburn-based charter and tour company Onondaga Coach, and said the Radio City show is one of the biggest draws for his customers during the holiday season.
Oster said he is not aware of any customers cancelling a trip because of the closures. He added that Onondaga Coach tends to sell more trips that include Broadway musicals in February or March than this time of year,
“It's hard to say how much of this really affects charter customers,” Oster said. “I don't anticipate this to be a big problem for us.”
And according to Dibble, the closures may not have as much of an impact on upstate residents than on tourists who are more than a day's drive away from Manhattan.
“Due to our proximity to New York City, there is always the opportunity to experience a Broadway musical in the future,” Dibble said.
Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.
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