SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County is on track to have set another record in visitor spending for the year 2024 when the data is complete.
That’s according to Danny Liedka, president and CEO of Visit Syracuse, who said that visitor spending is expected to exceed $1.3 billion in 2024 and has nearly doubled since 2017.
Visit Syracuse will learn the final numbers later this spring, Nikita Jankowski, who handles public relations for Visit Syracuse, tells CNYBJ in an email.
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Liedka delivered remarks during the Wednesday March 26 annual meeting of Visit Syracuse at Middle Ages Brewing Company at 120 Wilkinson St. in Syracuse. Nearly 250 tourism professionals attended the event, which had a theme of “Elevating Tourism and Inspiring Growth.”
The Visit Syracuse CEO also noted that even though the number of hotel rooms has declined in the county, convention sales have remained steady and are outperforming previous years.
“Somehow, with the inventory going down, downtown, our sales numbers have increased. Last year, we set another record — 55,000 convention rooms booked in our county,” Liedka said in the Visit Syracuse announcement about the annual meeting. He said that is up from 28,000 convention rooms booked seven years ago.
Tourism supports more than 15,000 local jobs and generates $84 million in local tax revenue and $66 million in state tax revenue, Visit Syracuse said in its announcement.
Visit Syracuse also said, “Collaborative efforts within the local industry were recognized as a key driver of continued future success. Tourism and hospitality partners embraced a targeted and focused look ahead, recognizing that while 2025 brings challenges of a reduction of hotel rooms, it is only temporary. Strategic promotional campaigns in growing feeder cities throughout the northeast were announced and will assist with countering the anticipated potential for slower Canadian traffic.”
The event also included welcoming remarks from Fran Brown, head coach of the Syracuse University football program, as well as the presentation of Destination Awards, recognizing eight industry partners and organizations. The recipients are listed below.
Destination Award recipients
- Sales Excellence — Anita Warner, Marriott Syracuse Downtown
- Catering Sales & Service Excellence — Linda Benn, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Syracuse
- Service Excellence — Jim Garvey, ASM Global Operations
- Hospitality Hero — Andrianos Family, Hercules Candy Company
- Hospitality Dream Team — Friends of the Zoo, Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park
- Hospitality Dream Team — The Erie Canal Museum
- Rising Star — Sarah Simiele, The Curd Nerd
- Legacy of Excellence — Chris & Penny Cesta, The Inn Between
