Tourism industry in Jefferson and St. Lawrence grows last year despite high water levels

Thursday, August 2, 2018

The tourism industry in Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties grew last year from 2016, in spite of the record-high water levels along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River that delayed the season.

 
To quote Gary DeYoung, the director of tourism at the 1000 Islands International Tourism Council, “We thought that our tourism fundamentals were very good, but we had a problem with our high water last year. So while we didn’t perform as well as some areas in the state, we did continue to grow in the Thousand Islands region.”

 
Travelers spent a little more than $540 million in the Thousand Islands last year, which was an increase of just over 4 percent. Travelers spent maximum on food, beverages and their vacation homes.

 
DeYoung is expecting more growth for Thousand Islands tourism this year. The owner of Uncle Sam Boat Tours in Alexandria Bay said that business has bounced back since last year, but not much like he expected.

 
“Unfortunately, this year the weather has cooperated and we haven’t had the kind of bounce back. We are ahead of last year, but not as much as we should be,” said Ronald Thomson, owner of Uncle Sam Boat Tours.

 
Thomson added that even though the weather has been cooperating this year, the record-high heat and humidity is keeping people away.

 
Still, a little more than a month to go in the summer tourism season, businesses are hoping for a strong finish.

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