Tourism Spending On Long Island.

Tourism spending on Long Island hit a new high-water mark in 2022, outpacing pre-pandemic spending records and prompting industry groups to say local tourism is back on track. Victor Ocasio reports on Newsday.com that visitors to Long Island spent a record $6.6 billion last year, up 14.4% from 2021, according to a state report conducted by Tourism Economics, a travel analytics and economic impact forecaster owned by Oxford Economics, an advisory firm. It was the first time direct visitor spending topped the pre-pandemic record of $6.3 billion in 2019. The majority of tourism spending was concentrated in Suffolk County — 56%. Purchases at Long Island restaurants and bars accounted for $2.4 billion, or 36% of overall visitor spending. Spending at hotels made up 19% and purchases at retail businesses made up 17%. One of the biggest factors for the higher rate of spending has been the impact of inflation and the rising cost of goods and hotel stays, said Kristen Reynolds, president and chief executive of Discover Long Island, the region’s tourism and hospitality marketing organization. For example, while hotel occupancy was up, “what was really driving” spending was the higher room rates visitors paid, Reynolds said. Visitor spending on Long Island generated $464 million in local taxes last year as a result of sales, property and hotel taxes, according to the report. ***Tourism spending on Long Island hit $6.6 billion in 2022…the first time direct visitor spending topped the pre-pandemic record of $6.3 billion in 2019…as visitor spending generated $464 million in local taxes last year. Long Island’s beaches and vineyards continue to be a major draw for visitors, said Kristen Reynolds, president and chief executive of Discover Long Island. And with a majority of waterfront hotels being located on the East End, Suffolk County was a beneficiary of seasonal summertime spending. “The beaches are key,” Reynolds said. “Additionally, we have become a very popular fall destination for harvest season, so the vineyards are also a huge draw.” Hotel occupancy and spending levels this year indicate Long Island likely will see a banner year in 2023. However, employment in tourism has yet to rebound to 2019 levels, a continuing challenge for business owners, particularly customer-facing businesses like restaurants and hotels that can’t find enough workers. While staffing wasn’t a major issue for summer season attractions like Splish Splash in Calverton this year, the 96-acre water park has had to change recruitment strategies to fill its more than 800 seasonal openings, marketing director Danielle Trombetta said. “We started our hiring efforts earlier in the season and were more strategic with our recruitment program,” she said. ***The US Department of Homeland Security cleared the way for more Venezuelan migrants to get work permits last night by expanding Temporary Protected Status to refugee seekers who fled the country for the US. Carl Campanile and Allie Griffin report in THE NY POST that an 18-month extension to the program, as well as the new inclusion of more recent border-crossers, was announced by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas after New York officials pleaded with President Joe Biden for help addressing the migrant crisis in NYC. Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke to Biden about the crisis and pointed to work authorization as a potential solution Tuesday night, while the president visited the Big Apple this week. “After my productive conversation with President Biden Tuesday night, I’m grateful the federal government has acted so speedily to grant one of our top priorities: providing Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan asylum seekers and migrants who have already arrived in this country,” Governor Hochul said in a statement yesterday. “There’s more work to do as we address this crisis, but the state of N