Sector is Rebounding, After Tough Pandemic Years

Oswego County tourism is seeing a resurgence.

As the pandemic continues to fade in the rearview mirror, things look brighter in the future.

“If we go back, the last 15 years — if we use occupancy tax collection as our metric — we’ve grown the economy by 273%,” said Dave Turner, director of the county’s Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.

That includes the pandemic year.

“We had that year, 2020, that saw a decrease of about 30%,” he said. “But then, the very next year, in 2021, we were back up. We had a good rebound in 2021 and then really significant improvement last year as well.”

Sportfishing in general is still a major draw for the county.

“You’ve got Oneida Lake with a lot of walleye and other fish. That draws a lot of anglers,” he said. “Lake Ontario, the Salmon River and the fishery — really eclipses all of that.”

There are other things that bring visitors to the area, he added.

For example, people stay in hotels who might be here to work on a project at the nuclear plants, the hospital or Novelis, he said.

“You also have to consider as well that the college activities bring many people to this area,” he said. “During the pandemic, you didn’t have parents here for graduation or parents’ weekend. Basketball, soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey — didn’t have all those visiting people and visiting teams and things like that. There was a reduction in all that during the pandemic.”

That put a strain on other businesses — such as hotels, gas stations, restaurants and others.

“The rebound was across all those categories. It’s not just more people are coming to go fishing or snowmobiling,” he said. “A visitor is a visitor in our minds and we do what we can to make sure that, for whatever reason you’re here, that you know about what there is to see and do and you have a good time so that you come back again.”

The county legislature has authorized Turner’s department to rebuild the tourism website. That project will begin this year.

“Hopefully, by this time next year, we will have something much more effective at communicating all there is to see and do here in Oswego County,” he said. “The visitor guide is just about ready to go to print. We will be redoing our little history pamphlet — that was highly requested — so we are doing a reprinting of that.”

With the waning pandemic, Turner believes there will be a resurgence in outdoor activities across the county.

“We are looking forward to continuing to work with all of the municipalities in the county to help promote all the things they have to offer, whether by geography or season,” he said. “We’re still promoting all the things we do. Harborfest has a brand new director. We’re looking forward to working with Dan [Harrington] and his board to let as many people as possible know about Harborfest.”

Oswego Visitor Center

The Visitor Center on West First Street in Oswego was open from midMay to mid- September with close to 500 visitors last year.

“July was our biggest month with nearly half of the tourists for the summer. Local people and those from neighboring counties stop in to see what’s coming up, but many come from all over the state,” said Eva Corradino of the Oswego Promotion and Tourism advisory board. “As we saw last year, people came from all over, Florida to Kingston, Ontario, Massachusetts to California, for many reasons. Oswego is becoming a destination in itself.”

The center provides information on Oswego County’s rich history, boating and fishing, access to Canada by water or road, the Oswego Speedway and more.

“Families coming for softball and baseball tournaments at Legends Field all found our little center” Corradino said. “We were able to direct people to the things that interest them, providing directions to parks and museums, places to buy T-shirts and other memorabilia, restaurants that fit their taste or budget. We even helped one boater navigate the website to enter Canada by boat.”

“We met people who had recently moved here, drawn by jobs in Oswego and Onondaga counties, as well as retirees choosing Oswego for its small-town vibe with a lot of activity,” she added.

When coming to Oswego for one reason, they found a fun-filled place to spend time — beautiful sunsets, Harborfest, block parties, tiki boats, family fun Days, boat trips to the light house, history and outdoor music everywhere enticed visitors, Corradino said.

National Marine Sanctuary a Step Closer

Plans are underway to create a new national marine sanctuary in New York’s eastern Lake Ontario, according to Dave Turner, director of the county’s Department of Community Development, Tourism and Planning.

“We’re moving ahead with the marine sanctuary. It’s still not official, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Turner said. “If things go as planned, might be an announcement late this year or early next year.”

The proposed boundary encompasses 1,724 square miles of eastern Lake Ontario waters and bottomlands adjacent to Jefferson, Oswego, Cayuga and Wayne counties. The area contains 43 known shipwrecks and one aircraft.

The New York State Tourism Hospitality Association will be meeting in