Hudson Tourism Week

Celebrate National Tourism Week on the Hudson River - Dutchess County Tourism hosted a Brochure Exchange and press conference to mark National Tourism Week on Tuesday, May 7 in the Mid-Hudson Children's Museum Pavilion in Poughkeepsie. The annual event attracts more than 100 Dutchess County tourism businesses, providing them the opportunity to exchange brochures and rack cards with other attractions, accommodations and restaurants.

Mary Kay Vrba, Executive Director of Dutchess County Tourism, said, "Tourism businesses all work together to motivate people to choose Dutchess for their vacation getaways. Not only do we share our printed material with others in the travel and hospitality industries, we all get a chance to hear first-hand about each other's new programs and services. This informational networking event was a perfect way to kick off the season."

Mary Kay Vrba shared recent statistics demonstrating the positive economic impact of tourism locally, and state-wide. Tourism is responsible for sustaining 8,757 full-time equivalent Dutchess jobs, generating $245 million in payroll. More than 4.1 million visitors come and spend more than $467 million in Dutchess annually. Revenues of $30 million are received by local government due to tourism, and $28 million in revenue is realized by New York State.

Copies of the new 2013 Dutchess County Tourism Travel Guide were also distributed. This year's theme is history and heritage. It lists more than 400 places to see and things to do, plus annual events, a map and information useful in planning a visit. It's bigger than ever at 68 full-color pages! Published in conjunction with Luminary Publishing, 80,000 copies are printed and distributed; magazine ads alone generated 23,638 inquiries and requests in 2012. See a digital copy on Issu or a downloadable pdf version in the online brochure room at www.dutchesstourism.com/brochures-guides-newsletters.php. Copies are also available at the Tourism office at 3 Neptune Road in Poughkeepsie.

The Dutchess County Tourism website enjoys draws more than a half million page views annually. Expanded listings for the history section debut soon, providing close-up view of each historic site and museum.

More than half of the County's visitors are between the ages of 35-54, with nearly 70% having an annual income of $50k or more. Young Strategies, Inc. is conducting market research this year to better understand the different types of visitors to Dutchess County. Tourism partners are assisting with this vital research and are currently engaged in surveying their own visitors. This new information will be invaluable in creating new programs, refining marketing efforts and creating advertising campaigns in order to to increase visitation to the area.