GuestView
Hudson Valley Tourism hard at work attracting guests
(Editor’s note: This article is in reply to an editorial that appeared last week.)
By MARY KAY VRBA

You are correct there is no “I” in team and Hudson Valley Tourism, a regional 10-county, tourism promotion organization is a fine example of that.

Tourism directors from Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, Greene, Columbia, Albany and Rensselear have been working together for more than 25 years to collectively market the Hudson River Valley. This group of professionals has published: a Hudson Valley River travel guide, which has won many awards from the I Love New York tourism department; a Hudson Valley wine map featuring the award winning wines of the Hudson River Valley; and a Hudson River waterfront map which highlights the attractions, marinas, waterfront restaurants, riverside sites, public parks, boat launches and sites with river views. The Hudson Valley travel guide also includes itineraries to assists visitors in planning their vacation to the Hudson River Valley.

The Hudson River does serve as a uniting force and it is. There is, however, a place for each of the county agencies. Each of the local agencies needs to work with the local tourism businesses to develop products (such as overnight stays with dinner at great restaurants and visits to local historic sites or attractions), establish good road signage and encourage good customer service. These products can then be packaged regionally as the Hudson Valley which then supports the I Love New York program which can be promoted to an international market.

All of the assets of the Hudson River Valley are promoted to media outside of the Hudson River Valley to bring in new visitor dollars to our communities. A report from Tourism Economics, commissioned in 2005 by the NYS Tourism Agencies, the NYS Convention and Visitor Association and the NYS State Hospitality and Tourism Association reported that overall tourism spending in the Hudson Valley was $4.5 billion. Tourism in Hudson Valley generated $505 million in state and local taxes in 2005

Hudson Valley Tourism Inc. not only markets to the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions but partners with I Love New York tourism to promote in the United Kingdom and Canada. With the weak U.S. dollar more visitors are coming from all around the world. Westchester and Rockland counties serve as the gateway to the valley. Visitors can easily follow the river and discover the Hudson Valley by planes, trains and automobiles, boats, (and buses).

Hudson Valley Tourism hosts many travel writers and tour operators to help in promoting the Hudson Valleys assets such as Kykuit, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Home Museum and Library and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In addition to regional historic sites and museums, local farm products and magnificent wineries have also been featured in outstanding publications like National Geographic magazine, Elle Decor, The New York Times, New York Daily News, Dining San Diego magazine, America Journal ­ a German newspaper and Essentially America ­ a UK magazine. This is just a sample of the extensive coverage that the Hudson Valley has received both in the United States and abroad.

Hudson Valley Tourism also assists visitors with information through its Web site travelhudsonvalley.com. Starting this fall HVT will be revamping and updating this site to continue to bring up-to-date information to the visitor.

Promotion efforts do not fall on us alone as we work with a variety of partners including the National Heritage Area, HV Greenway, Hudson River Valley Tours, Friends of the Hudson Valley and Hudson Valley Restaurants Week, which is a three-week partnership promoting restaurants in the 10-county region, and other tourism businesses who support our marketing and promotional effort. Hudson Valley Tourism is involved with planning for the 2009 Hudson Fulton Champlain Quadricentennial with attendance at the bimonthly meetings.

Hudson Valley Tourism and the county directors do give it our best shot each and every month working cohesively when we meet to discuss how we can best showcase the Hudson River Valley and what it has to offer. If anyone would like to discuss their ideas call me at (845) 463-5445,

Mary Kay Vrba is president of Hudson Valley Tourism and director of Dutchess County Tourism.

 

 

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