Visitors association takes stand against budget cut

Agency has a positive “return on investment”

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — After agriculture, tourism is the second largest industry in Sullivan County. For Roberta Byron-Lockwood, the president and CEO of the Sullivan County Visitors Association, it is frustrating not to be able to promote the county at the height of the tourist season.

Fortunately, a large part of the promotional spending for this year has already taken place, with some deals being made as early as October of 2005 for promotional materials now hitting the market. And the materials coming out of Byron-Lockwood’s office are many and varied: the Antiques Trail Guide, the Pottery Trail Guide, the Made in Sullivan County Catskills Guide, and guides for golf courses, museums and the scenic byway. And, of course, the Sullivan County Travel Guide.

At the government center on Thursday, Byron-Lockwood told lawmakers that 97,000 travel guides had been distributed in the county, state and region so far this year.

“We are the economic generator,” she said, “that brings new dollars to the county.”

Several times she underscored the assertion that the county gets a positive return on the investment it makes on the association.

A few of the association’s 150 members showed up at the meeting of the financial committee to show support. Norman Duttweiler, artistic director of the Forestburgh Playhouse, stressed the importance of tourism on the local economy. His theater, he said, “entertained 22,000 people last year. Forty percent of those people dined in a local restaurant before going to the theater.”

Paul Carlucci, chairman of the visitors association, and general manager of the Villa Roma resort, said the tourism rebirth the county is now seeing is the culmination of four or five years of hard work. He said “to pull out of the marketplace now would set us back to year one.”

As with a previous similar demonstration for the Cornell Cooperative Extension, the lawmakers were sympathetic. Legislator Jodi Goodman praised the publications as “outstanding.” Jonathan Rouis, chairman of the finance committee, said the agency did a “fabulous job.” He added, “It’s disappointing to be in this position.”

The position is that lawmakers must decide how to make up for a $4.7 million budget shortfall caused by disputes or misunderstandings between county lawmakers and those in Albany. The proposed cut to the visitors association is $402,000.

Byron-Lockwood said that if the county were more aggressive on collecting all the room taxes that were due, those funds would more than offset the proposed cut. Rouis said he would explore that avenue with Legislator Rodney Gaebel.

In the meantime, Byron-Lockwood is optimistic about the legislators finding a way to restore funding. She said they appreciate the importance of the tourism industry. However, she’s not moving forward with deals that would promote the county in such publications as New York Resident and Parent Magazine until the budget situation is resolved.