POUGHKEEPSIE – More than half a billion dollars was spent in 2021 by travelers to Dutchess County on lodging, food and beverages, recreation, transportation, retail and other travel-related expresses.
In its annual report on the economic impact of visitors in New York, Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economic company, showed visitors spent $632 million in Dutchess in 2021, an increase of $214.2 million from COVID-19 plagued 2020. That equates to 93.7 percent of the record total reached in 2019, which capped 10 years of consecutive growth.
Travelers spend $3.8 billion in the Hudson Valley region in 2021.
Tourism is the third largest industry in the state and a major driving economic force in the Hudson Valley.
“It’s been a long road through this pandemic but by working together – our team, county government, community and tourism partners – we found creative ways to provide wonderful experiences for travelers and this significant growth in visitor spending, is the result,” said Melaine Rottkamp, president of Dutchess Tourism, Inc., the agency designated by the county as its tourism marketing organization.
