No pennies to waste. With people going without health insurance, struggling to pay their mortgage, and some even relying on food pantries for their next meal, spending taxpayer dollars on tourism promotion sounds a bit frivolous.
Not so, say those who have a say in spending those tax dollars. In fact, a recent shake-up in tourism promotion in the Finger Lakes region shows the millions spent every year on promotion — through programs like I Love New York and a slew of other campaigns —are getting close scrutiny.
Late last year, the nearly century-old Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance lost one-third of its membership, going from 14 county tourism bureaus to nine. Paying annual dues to the Penn Yan-based Alliance, for years considered the region’s official tourism agency, seemed not so smart to the five counties that withdrew: Onondaga, Livingston, Monroe, Wayne and Tioga.
Though some hinted that personality conflicts and politics came into play, money was the real deal-breaker, say those involved.
“When you have a 14-county region, with 14 different agendas, there are bound to be differences of opinion,” said Gene Pierce, Alliance board chairman and co-owner of Glenora Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake.
Even so, losing membership is “more of a sign of the times” said Pierce, a Yates County Chamber of Commerce member and chairman of a tourism advisory committee for Seneca County.
“All of us are struggling under the stress and pressure” of the economy, he said.
Retired Palmyra Town Supervisor David Lyon, who voted to withdraw from the alliance last year when he was on the Wayne County Board of Supervisors, said money was the driving force. The concern wasn’t whether Wayne County should spend money on tourism, he said, but rather, that it be spent most wisely.
“We had to re-evaluate what we were getting for our money,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we were getting the biggest bang for our buck.”
When looking at the whole picture, he added, “this is not the only game in town.”
Annual dues paid to the Alliance range from $8,500 to $11,500 per county, based on each county’s sales and lodging tax revenue and other factors.
“It is the most expensive membership we pay,” said Ontario County Tourism Bureau Director Valerie Knoblauch. Ontario decided to remain a member this year, she said, though 2010 will be a test. “We wanted to remain cooperative ... while evaluating the exposure Ontario County is getting through Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance services. We are looking very closely, for our future.”
