Executive Hein and Kingston Mayor Gallo Plan to Consolidate Ulster County Tourism Efforts

Jan 13th, 2012 | By HV Insider | Category: Featured Articles

ULSTER COUNTY EXECUTIVE MIKE HEIN AND CITY OF KINGSTON MAYOR SHAYNE GALLO ANNOUNCE PLANS TO CONSOLIDATE TOURISM EFFORTS

Shared services plan will save taxpayers money and create enhanced tourism promotion.

Ulster County Executive Mike Hein, Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo, tourism and economic development professionals, as well as Kingston business owners gathered at the Heritage Area Visitors’ Center on the Kingston waterfront this afternoon to unveil the details of a plan to share resources with the City of Kingston in order to better promote the City to potential visitors.

“In order for Ulster County to thrive, the City of Kingston must also thrive,” said County Executive Hein. “Tourism is a $430 million part of the Ulster County economy. There is no question that promoting Kingston as a tourist destination will benefit all of Ulster County. In difficult economic times, the ability to leverage the strengths of the City and the County in order to best serve the collective taxpayer is essential. The bottom line is: shared services save taxpayers’ money and this merger is smart government.”

“As Mayor of the City of Kingston, I am grateful to the County Executive for thinking outside of the box about ways to better promote Kingston and at the same time save us all money,” said City of Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo. “Kingston is an incredible year-round destination with a beautiful waterfront, world class festivals, amazing restaurants and places to stay, and fascinating museums, but unfortunately the City does not have the resources to adequately advertise. The County Executive’s plan will help the City of Kingston tremendously.”

“I am excited about the prospects of the County Executive’s tourism consolidation plan for the City of Kingston,” said Jeanette Provenzano, an Ulster County Legislator representing the City of Kingston. “The City has so much to offer tourists and this plan will help to promote it all. It is win/win for the City of Kingston and the County.”

The County of Ulster and the City of Kingston will enter into an agreement for the County to help with the City’s tourism promotion. In so doing, the City of Kingston will gain dedicated promotion of its businesses, tourist attractions and festivals; the County will gain use of a beautiful Visitor Center; and City and County taxpayers will save money.

Specifically, the City will pay the County $30,000 annualized to professionally augment its tourism efforts. This will enable the County to:

Dedicate $30,000 to City of Kingston tourism promotion
Expand promotion of the City’s festivals
Enhance Visitors’ Center experience/Improve Tourism Department visibility
Access newest technology, such as Google Analytics to boost professional planning to Kingston’s tourism efforts
Better coordinate City and County tourism campaigns

The City will realize $40,000 in savings annualized while the County will save almost $15,000 in Tourism Department rent annually. In addition, the Mayor of Kingston will gain an appointment on the County Executive’s Tourism Advisory Board.

This agreement is anticipated to be in place by the second quarter of 2012, subject to approval of the Ulster County Legislature and the City of Kingston Common Council.

“We’re very excited about the shared services agreement with the city of Kingston and we’re looking forward to working closely with Mayor Gallo and his team,” Ulster County Tourism Director Richard Remsnyder said. “The Rondout Visitors Center gives us a highly visible location and should increase traffic into our office. The additional resources from this agreement will allow us to greatly enhance our efforts to promote New York State’s first capital. As a result, as visibility and promotion increases through these efforts, it will bolster economic development in the City of Kingston by drawing more tourists to the City.”

Sandy Henne, owner of Hudson River Cruises in downtown Kingston, supported the shared services agreement between Ulster County and the City of Kingston, which will enhance tourism efforts in the city. According to Ms. Henne, “Anything we can do to help promote tourism in Kingston is a great idea! By having a joint effort with the County and City with more resources behind it, I think it could make a big difference.”

Frank Guido, a partner in Mariner’s Harbor and Frank Guido’s Little Italy restaurants, is thrilled with the agreement. “That’s great news,” Guido said. “This is our 12th year downtown and we’ve seen the growth there, but we need more businesses and shops that attract tourists to the area. I think this agreement will help promote the waterfront and other tourist destinations in the City. It’ll be a great location for Ulster County Tourism and the whole concept is a win-win situation for the City and the County.”