Another tourism study not needed
Covid-19 remains an epidemic that needs to be addressed
The Front Page
Morning Update
Thursday, October 21, 2021
By Ken Tingley
The Tourism and Occupancy Tax Coordination Committee in Warren County recommended hiring a Chicago based marketing firm to research how other tourist destinations are attracting tourists.
The price tag is $72,000.
Tourism studies are nothing new to our region. The quench for more tourists to stay longer has been going on for decades. But all these years later, there still does not seem to be an acceptable plan moving forward.
The county is considering hiring Hunden Strategic Partners to research how other tourist communities do it.
Since Warren County has a tourism department, I wonder why it can’t just reach out to their colleagues in the tourism industry around the state and ask for themselves. Even if they took a couple weeks to visit with colleagues around the state, it certainly would be well below the $72,000 price tag.
Considering all the tourism studies over the years, why can’t the county tourism committee also review all the past research. Find out what has been done and what has not been done.
Rob Hunden, the founder of the group Warren County wants to hire, admitted that tourism officials in other communities “love to share what they’ve done well.” So why does Warren County need to pay Hunden.
Warren County is trying to find the “secret sauce” for tourism. I suspect that the ingredients in the “secret sauce” continue to change and evolve. There really is no “secret sauce” other than having a good produce.
Warren County and the Adirondacks have a good product. They don’t need to spend $72,000 to get more information when they can do it themselves.
Context on dying
As a young editor in 2002, I calculated that eight teenagers had died in underage drinking accidents over a three-year span.
I considered that a community a problem, an epidemic really.
What followed was a four-week series of stories called “The Cost of Fun” that examined the underage drinking problem in the region and an emphasis on addressing the problem. While the underage drinking series won national journalism awards, the real significance was there were fewer deaths in the coming years.
So when I saw that the 89th death in Warren County had been recorded Wednesday due to Covid-19, I wondered where was the outrage, where was the demand for everyone to be vaccinated and wear masks in close proximity.
This is an epidemic and many people are needlessly dying.
Cost of athletics
It was startling to see both Glens Falls and Queensbury propose $30 million in spending on infrastructure the past couple weeks.
Queensbury, which just completed a $30 million spending plan, is asking for a new turf field like the one Glens Falls has.
Glens Falls, which got its turf field 14 years ago, is saying its turf field needs replaced and that it would like lights for the new one.
One wonders if we need to have a discussion about the cost of sports in our schools. I wonder if varsity sports have past their usefulness. Perhaps, a club sports model would be cheaper on taxpayers and improve education opportunities.
After working in Lake George all summer, I think I can verify that tourism is alive and well in this area! Even when we had a rainy July, they STILL came!