AUBURN #- For many people, the words New York immediately conjure up an image of a city.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen.
Gary DeYoung, right, director of tourism for 1000 Islands International Tourism Council and president of New York State Convention & Visitors Bureau Association presents data from a study on the statewide economic impact of tourism during the New York Rural Tourism Conference at the Holiday Inn in Auburn on Friday morning.
Gary DeYoung, right, director of tourism for 1000 Islands International Tourism Council and president of New York State Convention & Visitors Bureau Association presents data from a study on the statewide economic impact of tourism during the New York Rural Tourism Conference at the Holiday Inn in Auburn on Friday morning.
But New York City and other major metropolitan areas of the state account for a relatively small geographic percentage of the state, according to Suzanne Bixby, president of New York State Travel & Vacation Association.
Helping to raise awareness of this fact was the main focus of the second annual Rural Tourism Conference, held in Auburn this week.
The rural nature of the state is demonstrated quite clearly, according to Bixby, by the fact that agriculture is the number one industry in the state. And at an estimated $4 billion annually, tourism is the second largest industry statewide.
“When you get outside of larger areas like New York City much of the state is what would be defined as rural,” Bixby said. “With tourism being as big as it is in the state we thought doing something like this (conference) would be a good way to work on getting information out there. ... Before we did this there really wasn't a source for this kind of information.”
The two-day conference is geared toward getting business owners, covering a broad spectrum of the tourism industry, from bed and breakfast owners to gift shop owners from across the state together in the same place to look at topics like networking, symbiotic relationships and how the Internet is impacting the industry as a whole.
Over the course of the two days, Bixby said that there were more than 120 people from all over New York in
attendance for the conference.
“It has grown from last year,” Bixby said. “The Holiday Inn has been kind enough to let us be here for the past two years and I think this has helped get people interested in the idea of rural tourism.”
“We've had people here from this region as well as the Adirondacks, 1,000 Islands, from all over the state. It has been good to see,” Bixby said.
Increasingly, the Internet is playing a bigger and bigger role in travel and tourism.
“Sites like Travelocity are huge ... they can have a huge impact in getting people to a bed and breakfast or a particular shop or location.”
And of course that biggest of trends, blogging, is also a major topic.
“That was one of our biggest seminars,” Bixby said. “We had lecturers here to talk about how blogging works and how that can help draw attention to businesses.”
As large a role as computers may be playing in the industry today, Bixby said that few things can compare to having something good to offer and the impact of people being involved with one another.
“Networking is a huge part of this,” Bixby said. “That is probably the biggest thing we hope people take away from this with them. That they exchange business cards and get in touch with each other and find ways to work together.”
Bixby said that things like camping, fishing, kayaking and other outdoor activities are also a big draw for the tourism industry in central New York.
Bixby pointed to an industry that is particularly booming in the Finger Lakes region, wineries, and the symbiotic relationship that has developed between them and other businesses.
“You have all these trails and all these wineries right here along the lakes,” Bixby said. “And from that you have all these other industries that pop up.
Restaurants that serve the wine, bed and breakfasts for people that want to stay along the trail, gift shops that sell the wines. You get this kind of relationship between all these places and that is something that can be marketed and get people here.“
To learn more
For more information on New York State Travel & Vacation Association visit www.nystva.org
Helping to raise awareness of this fact was the main focus of the second annual Rural Tourism Conference, held in Auburn this week.
The rural nature of the state is demonstrated quite clearly, according to Bixby, by the fact that agriculture is the number one industry in the state. And at an estimated $4 billion annually, tourism is the second largest industry statewide.
“When you get outside of larger areas like New York City much of the state is what would be defined as rural,” Bixby said. “With tourism being as big as it is in the state we thought doing something like this (conference) would be a good way to work on getting information out there. ... Before we did this there really wasn't a source for this kind of information.”
The two-day conference is geared toward getting business owners, covering a broad spectrum of the tourism industry, from bed and breakfast owners to gift shop owners from across the state together in the same place to look at topics like networking, symbiotic relationships and how the Internet is impacting the industry as a whole.
Over the course of the two days, Bixby said that there were more than 120 people from all over New York in
attendance for the conference.
“It has grown from last year,” Bixby said. “The Holiday Inn has been kind enough to let us be here for the past two years and I think this has helped get people interested in the idea of rural tourism.”
“We've had people here from this region as well as the Adirondacks, 1,000 Islands, from all over the state. It has been good to see,” Bixby said.
Increasingly, the Internet is playing a bigger and bigger role in travel and tourism.
“Sites like Travelocity are huge ... they can have a huge impact in getting people to a bed and breakfast or a particular shop or location.”
And of course that biggest of trends, blogging, is also a major topic.
“That was one of our biggest seminars,” Bixby said. “We had lecturers here to talk about how blogging works and how that can help draw attention to businesses.”
As large a role as computers may be playing in the industry today, Bixby said that few things can compare to having something good to offer and the impact of people being involved with one another.
“Networking is a huge part of this,” Bixby said. “That is probably the biggest thing we hope people take away from this with them. That they exchange business cards and get in touch with each other and find ways to work together.”
Bixby said that things like camping, fishing, kayaking and other outdoor activities are also a big draw for the tourism industry in central New York.
Bixby pointed to an industry that is particularly booming in the Finger Lakes region, wineries, and the symbiotic relationship that has developed between them and other businesses.
“You have all these trails and all these wineries right here along the lakes,” Bixby said. “And from that you have all these other industries that pop up.
Restaurants that serve the wine, bed and breakfasts for people that want to stay along the trail, gift shops that sell the wines. You get this kind of relationship between all these places and that is something that can be marketed and get people here.“
To learn more
For more information on New York State Travel & Vacation Association visit www.nystva.org
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