Visitors association presents tourism data; officials push winter strategy and group-sales effort
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Summary
The Sullivan County Visitors Association presented data showing dependence on the New York market, declines in lodging compared with 2023, and a strategy to grow overnight stays via a stronger winter brand and targeted group sales.
The Sullivan County Visitors Association presented visitor and lodging data showing higher dependence on New York origin visitors and declines in lodging receipts in the first half of the year compared with 2023, and urged investment in winter programming and group-sales capacity to increase overnight stays.
Michael, speaking for the visitors association, said total trips rose 67.5% when comparing 2023 to 2020 but that 2025 is showing a dip in trips and visitor days through June. Michael said the county's sample for cell-phone and credit-card-derived "micro" visitor data is about 25'28% and that the county now has forward-looking analytics to inform marketing. He showed lodging spending figures through May and said lodging was down 7.6% in 2024 vs. 2023 and down 41% in 2025 vs. 2023 when looking at lodging-only figures; combining spending categories reduced the decline to about 8.1%.
Michael warned the county is increasingly dependent on in-state (New York) visitors and suggested diversifying market origin to lengthen average stays. He outlined plans for a winter campaign (creative messaging such as "Embrace winter's quiet magic") and a winter-spring visitor guide; the association also plans a new website and a cooperative grant program it hopes to announce in September.
Discussion at the meeting covered developing winter attractions (ice skating, winter festivals), adding a sports/convention facility to host large group events that generate overnight stays, and building group-sales coordination across hotels and resorts. Participants noted the booking window for leisure trips has shortened since the COVID era and urged the visitors association to pursue forward-looking property-management system access from hotels to improve near-term visibility.
Why it matters: the presentation ties county marketing and facilities planning to measurable lodging and trip trends, and it frames a strategy (diversify origin markets; add winter offers and group-sales capacity) intended to increase overnight stays and lodging revenue.