Guest column by state senator Tom O'Mara (Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben and Yates counties, and a portion of Tompkins County (the city and town of Ithaca, and the towns of Enfield, Newfield and Ulysses).
Thermometers could be topping the 80-degree mark later in this week. Boats are getting back on the water. Corning’s GlassFest is right around the corner, and The Glen is gearing up for another exciting season of racing and other events. Therefore, we might as well go ahead and turn a few thoughts toward tourism. Why not? After all, last week’s announcement that the statewide tourism industry set new records in 2016 for total number of visitors, economic impact and direct spending was outstanding. We attracted a record 239 million visitors last year. These visitors drove nearly $65 billion in direct spending, the highest amount ever. The industry overall generated a nearly $105-billion economic impact.
In other words, tourism is big business across the state and right here at home throughout the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier regions where, according to estimates, the industry accounts for 60,000 jobs.
However, for those of us born and raised here – or for anyone who has lived here for any extended length of time – tourism runs so much deeper than dollars and cents. The industry, in all of its many layers, largely defines our culture. It’s woven into the fabric of our lives, how we work and raise our families, as well as being the foundation of so many of Upstate’s locally based traditions.
We’re wise to take every opportunity to celebrate it, promote it and showcase it -- which is exactly what we’re doing in Albany on Tuesday, May 16. I’ll be joining area Assemblymen Phil Palmesano and Chris Friend, along with several other legislative colleagues, to host the New York Wine Industry Association’s (NYWIA) 4th Annual "Sip and Sample" tasting event. Over the past several years, this event has steadily grown into one of the Legislature’s top efforts to show off New York State-made wines, cheeses and other food products. This year’s "Sip and Sample" is the largest one yet. It will feature wineries, cheese producers and other food manufacturers from the Finger Lakes, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, and Central and Western New York.
We are proud to help support our winemakers, cheese producers and other food manufacturers by promoting the excellence and quality of their products. For example, I’ve said repeatedly over the years that New York’s grape and wine industry is one of our state’s greatest-of-all success stories. It has been just remarkable. From the brink of disaster a generation ago, the industry today is widely renowned and admired statewide, nationally and internationally. In fact, the New York Wine & Grape Foundation estimates the state’s grape, grape juice and wine industries annually generate approximately $5 billion in overall economic benefits to New York.
If you’re familiar at all with the industry, then you appreciate and understand how much has gone into the industry’s transformation, at so many levels, including the level of advocacy, public awareness and education – areas where NYWIA (www.nywineindustryassociation.com) has made and continues to make such a difference.
Of course, the rise of the wine industry has helped sparked the ongoing emergence of the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail (http://www.flcheesetrail.com). It was my great pleasure at the Capitol last Tuesday to honor Carmella Hoffman of Schuyler County as a New York State Senate 2017 "Woman of Distinction." Carm’s work as an artisan cheese producer as the owner and operator of Sunset View Creamery, and as a driving force behind the annual Finger Lakes Cheese Festival (which takes place this year on July 22, find out more at http://www.flcheesetrail.com), makes her exemplary of the commitment and quality of Finger Lakes agriculture.
So yes, it’s more than worthwhile to help show off the quality of New York State winemakers, cheese producers and other food manufacturers.
That’s what we’ll be bringing to the attention of our colleagues in New York State government this week. These industries are economic engines for a great number of rural, Upstate communities. They provide good, sustainable livelihoods for thousands of New Yorkers.
Most importantly, their growth and success remain a story in the making.
