Visit Syracuse Annual Report 2023

Who We Are

Visit Syracuse leads the generation of nearly $900 million in direct visitor spending annually to the local economy, and as Central New York’s largest Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), works to deliver short-term and future income for businesses, employment for residents and tax revenue for local government.

By collaborating with community stakeholders, Visit Syracuse will be the prime visitors advocate and regional leader of destination marketing positioning Onondaga County and Central New York to thrive as a premiere travel destination.

CORE VALUES

To perform effectively by adhering to guiding principles of equity, authenticity, and excellence.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

As the official destination management organization for Onondaga County, Visit Syracuse recognizes how critical inclusivity is to the tourism industry. It is our responsibility to promote the different cultures, history, heritage, cuisine, art and people that make our community unique in order to provide opportunities for under-represented communities to experience travel as a safe and equitable activity. Visit Syracuse is committed to bringing together a wide variety of voices when promoting tourism and sustaining our county’s economic growth. We will strive to be an organizational leader in intentional inclusivity, celebrating the cultural diversity of our community. Our organization is actively involved in Travel Unity, an organization with the purpose of increasing inclusion in the world of travel. Our upcoming Strategic Planning process will also further our commitment and strengthen our abilities and understanding in how to better promote diversity, inclusivity and equity within the travel and hospitality industry.

ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION

Visit Syracuse plays a critical role in Onondaga County’s economic development strategy through its focus to grow the area’s business of leisure tourism, meetings & conventions, sporting & special events and film/television production. We are designated as Onondaga County’s official Tourism Promotion Agency (TPA) via our direct collaboration with Empire State Development and the “I Love NY” program.

An abundance of fabulous restaurants, first-class arts and cultural experiences and top-notch attractions await all visitors to the region, and the dedicated team of professionals at Visit Syracuse continuously market promote all four seasons through marketing campaigns, brand development, media relations, and more. We have the data and the resources to identify, capture, target and retarget a wide scope of potential visitors as we invite them to come enjoy and explore Syracuse, Onondaga County and Central New York, a great place to live, work, play and visit.

History

Visit Syracuse was established in 1919 to promote the Greater Syracuse area as a convention and leisure destination. Known initially as the City Club of Syracuse, which merged with the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce in 1918, the organization was officially designated as the Syracuse Convention & Visitors Bureau in November 1919. In 2015, the name was shortened to Visit Syracuse, for marketing purposes. No matter which name we go by, we have the distinction of being the first officially designated CVB organization in New York State.

Hosting conferences, conventions and more

Meeting and event planners, along with their attendees, appreciate the accessibility of our destination at the crossroads of two major interstates, within a short four-hour drive of 10 major North American markets (home to about 80 million people.) Easy access via AMTRAK, as well as continued expansion of incoming flights to Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport, further solidifies our ability to serve as a host destination for a variety of meetings and events. Planners work closely with the Visit Syracuse sales and services team to review our selection of facilities and venues alongside an array of accommodations to fit any style and budget, setting the stage for the Central New York Region to host a variety of state, regional and national meetings, and events.

Bringing Film Production to Syracuse

The Visit Syracuse Film Office works to promote, develop, and increase film & television production in the Central New York region. Utilizing state and local tax and rebate incentives, initiating local crew training programs, assisting with permits, and connecting filmmakers with area businesses are just a few examples of ensuring success. Having worked on dozens of films, with many more in development, the film office is constantly striving to make the Syracuse area a staple in the entertainment and film industry.

A letter from the President and CEO

2022 was an incredible year for Onondaga County as our region showed great resiliency in its recovery from the pandemic. Leisure travel surged thanks to pent up demand and our stakeholders benefited from the return to some sense of normalcy.

The first and most significant move in early 2022 was adding new talent to our core team. These additions have made us more versatile, stronger, and able to branch out into new frontiers. In fact, in 2022 thanks to these key additions, Visit Syracuse was able to redesign, develop content, secure advertising support, and distribute its Visitors Guide from the efforts of this team alone, a publishing process previously managed through an outside agency. We also amplified our blog, social, and visual efforts on a variety of channels including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, thanks to the expansion of the team.

Visit Syracuse made enormous strides in its efforts to showcase Onondaga County, and all of CNY positioning us as an up-and-coming destination. We launched a redesigned website that boasts highly engaged visitation thanks to award winning content from the Visit Syracuse marketing team. The metrics you will see in this report really show just how impactful the new website can be in driving tourism in Onondaga County. Visitors to the site enjoy amazing visuals, intriguing blog content, and a robust calendar to name just a few of the new website features. The new technology will allow us to expand our visibility into new areas in 2023 including the Syracuse Hancock International Airport where kiosks will provide a greeting to thousands of visitors highlighting the best our area has to offer.

Visit Syracuse Film continued to thrive in 2022 with over 30 million dollars in production revenue in Onondaga County. This momentum certainly was noticed from other regions. The sustained success of Visit Syracuse Film led directly to the expansion into Binghamton where VS Film holds a management contract with Visit Binghamton for the enhancement of Visit Binghamton Film. The regional approach and growing footprint of film will drive new revenue.

Goals continue to be shattered by our veteran group of Visit Syracuse sales professionals. In fact, since 2017 sales have increased 73% with 2022 being a record year of over 50,000 convention rooms signed on for future years. 2022 enabled the team to get back on the road and have face to face conversations with prospective and existing clients. It was also a banner year for site visits where clients were met with redesigned collateral showcasing the region’s momentum. In the Group Tour market we have been able to add several new tour itineraries with Syracuse serving as the hub. These groups are very interested in attractions including the Erie Canal Museum, Skaneateles, Green Lakes State Park, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Onondaga Historical Association, the Underground Railroad, Destiny USA and more. The services team expanded their client offerings throughout the year as well and implemented social media into those offerings.

All of these activities played a big part in the recovery of our tourism economy. Statistics tell the story of progress, especially in the hotel industry where rate, rev par, and occupancy exceed 2019 levels. Onondaga County shows great promise. Since 2017 Syracuse has shown the largest amount of growth in those areas when compared to its NYS Thruway competitors.

The Visit Syracuse team experienced an exceptional year, giving reason to be extremely optimistic about the future. Bed tax collections set a new record in 2022, and will help fuel the furnace that will push our region even further forward into 2023 and beyond. Work will begin on a strategic plan that will help us navigate the impending massive projects on tap for future years and take advantage of the positive momentum. We look forward to your participation in this process as we build for the future.

DANNY LIEDKA President & CEO

WE ARE

2022 SUCCESSES

• Confirmed 52,000+ convention/event room night bookings for 2022, with an economic impact of $25M+.

• Launched entirely redesigned VisitSyracuse.com, with an abundance of new user-friendly features, engaging content, and a robust calendar of events.

• Resurrected printed version of the Syracuse and CNY Visitors Guide, producing it entirely in-house, distributing nearly 50K copies, and engaging more than 3,000 digital views.

• Extended the management contract for the Central New York “I Love NY” Welcome Center for one year, with a four-year option forthcoming.

• Saw film production budgets of $32M in 2022, far exceeding 2019’s pre-pandemic achievements.

• Established a $125K per year multi-year contract with Visit Binghamton to grow the Visit Binghamton Film Office, expanding the trajectory of regional film production and revenues.

• Assisted ELITE Gaming in meetings with state and local officials to gain financial support of a new e-gaming center at the Milton J Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology. NYS has confirmed $500K toward this nearly three-million-dollar project.

• Worked with county officials on the new aquarium project. Provided survey and feasibility study data, presented to economic development and legislative sessions, and produced a narrative video emphasizing the positive visitor potential of the project.

• Amplified efforts focused on promoting major local events, increasing festival attendance by 11%.

• Produced narrative video, explicitly for Micron executives, accentuating the quality of life in the Central New York region, played for them in full surround sound at a special event in the JMA Wireless Dome.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Visit Syracuse Board of Directors is comprised of members of our hospitality industry reprsenting hotels, the county’s largest convention center space, some of the area’s top attractions as well as government employees. The Board assists Visit Syracuse in overall planning, budgeting, approval processes and direction of destination management within Onondaga County as well as the Finger Lakes and Central New York Regions.

KATHY RAPP Chair

FRANK CALIVA City of Syracuse

SID BHATTACHARYA Syracuse University

SEAN HENNESSEY New York State Fair

KYLE HARES Woodbine Hospitality Group

PETER CASPER ASM/Syracuse: The Oncenter/St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeivew

TONY MANGANO Prima Terra Properties SUE STANCZYK Onondaga County Executive Office

DAVID AITKEN Pyrmaid Management Group

OUR STAFF

VISITOR SPENDING

economic impact

Growth in traveler spend was up 79.9% FROM 2020 TO TOTAL $908 MILLION IN 2021

VISITORS SPEND

$103,700 EVERY HOUR in Onondaga County

JOB GENERATION

Tourism related industries employed 13,247 PEOPLE and resulted in $405.5 MILLION in labor income

TAX REVENUE

Tourism generated $69.4 MILLION in local taxes and $48 MILLION in state taxes

TAX SAVINGS PER HOUSEHOLD IN ONONDAGA COUNTY WAS $627

VISITOR SPENDING BY CATEGORY

TOURISM IS VITAL IN SUSTAINING AN ECONOMOY’S ECONOMIC GROWTH AND BALANCE.

Marketing & Communications PROMOTIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

NY BY RAIL

Visit Syracuse runs yearly campaigns in the NY By Rail magazine, found on Amtrak trains and stations across the state. These ad campaigns run both in the print edition as well as digital and include a special highlight in their e-newsletter.

BLUES FEST & JAZZFEST

Visit Syracuse partnered with the NYS Bluesfest and the return of the Jazzfest to promote these two large musical events throughout the state as well as the Northeast, including New York City, Boston area and Philadelphia region.

CANADIAN CAMPAIGN

As Canadian travelers started to return to the United States post-COVID regulations, we placed a variety of print and digital ads in multiple publications in the Ottawa and Kingston regions, to entice Canadian visitors to return to the greater Syracuse area!

LP&M VALENTINE’S DAY CAMPAIGN

Visit Syracuse worked with locally owned LP&M on a number of campaigns in 2021 and 2022. The Valentine’s Day campaigns were run with the purpose of promoting hotel overnight stays and restaurant visits coming out of the pandemic.

UPSTATE EATS TRAIL

The Upstate Eats Trail is a collaborative effort between the DMO’s of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton to promote an Americana food trail stretching from Binghamton to Buffalo. Created in 2020, the combined efforts of all four partners has led to a wealth of media coverage and social media exposure. UpstateEatsTrail.com supports the venture with highlights of each city and their selected restaurants. In 2022, Visit Syracuse took on the task of managing the Trail’s first social media channel, found on Instagram.

SPORTS & ATHLETICS

Visit Syracuse has longstanding relationships with both the Syracuse Crunch and Syracuse Mets. Through a variety of partnerships the SYR logo can be seen during televised broadcasts as well as on partner social media channels.

Recently the organization has also embarked upon an exciting partnership with Learfield and Syracuse University Ahtletics to promote visiting or returning to the region for a game. Some of the fun digital promotions and contests you may have seen so far are the “Where Do You Cheer From?” and “Why I Love Syracuse” video, featuring SU coaches Gary Gait, Kayla Treanor, Ian MacIntyre and Bakeer Ganesharatnam.

ADDITIONAL PARTNERS

Ongoing partnerships and promotional activities also occur between Visit Syracuse and a variety of our hospitality partners and venues including the Oncenter and St. Joseph’s Amphitheater, Hanover Thursdays concert series, various restaurants and more! Crosspromotion often comes in a variety of creative forms including blog posts, social media posts and contests to name a few.

EMAIL CAMPAIGNS

In 2022, Visit Syracuse sent out 10 monthly leisure focused e-newsletters as well as two partner e-newsletters. The leisure e-news focuses on things to do and places to go for the consumer traveler while the partner content focuses on important happenings and updates in the region.

CONSUMER CONSUMER PARTNER PARTNER

Did You Know?

36% OPEN RATE

HOSPITALITY ALERTS HOSPITALITY ALERTS

Visit Syracuse sends out email notifications when we have large groups coming to town?

Our Hospitality Alerts let our area Partners know when to prepare for large groups coming to various parts of the Syracuse area. In 2022, we sent monthly alerts from March through December.

If you would like to be added to receive these, or would like access to our Partner Portal, where we list large groups coming within a 60-day range please reach out to Brittany Juravich.

Visit Syracuse partners with BCI to stock and manage the Preble Visitors Center on I-81 northbound. You can find Visit Syracuse guides as well as those from around the state. You can also find our Guide at centers along I-81 as well as a number of into Pennsylvania and New Jersey rest areas and AAA offices.

VISITORS GUIDE

After not printing the annual Syracuse Visitors Guide for two years, the Visit Syracuse team brought back this popular piece, producing it fully in-house, for 2022-2023. Throughout the year, over 50k printed guides have been distributed and there have been 3k+ online views. Guides have been requested to ship to 46 states + Puerto Rico and Washington D.C., as well 20 countries outside the United States, including Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Canada and the U.K.

WEBSITE

In September 2022, Visit Syracuse launched a newly redesigned VisitSyracuse.com. Featuring slightly updated branding along with an new interactive map, redesigned navigation, a variety of additional call-out options, the updates were the first of their kind for the site since 2016. The new site also allows our team to target specific personas to offer even more personalized, curated content.

IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDE :

INTERACTIVE MAP OF THE REGION

BOOKING FEATURES FOR HOTEL STAYS

INSPIRATIONAL & PERSONALIZED CONTENT

REORGANIZED NAVIGATION FOR EASY TO FIND INFORMATION

VisitSyracuse.com helps people plan their trip to Onondaga County every day and also helps locals discover interesting new things to do in their own town! Here is a look at some of the numbers from 2022 that show the impact of our website!

645,503 645,503

OF VISITS TO VISITSYRACUSE.COM

OF 30% FROM 2021

ITINERARY BUILDER

2:28 2:28

AVG. TIME ON PAGE FOR VISITSYRACUSE.COM

OF 16% FROM 2021

1,127,655

1,127,655

PAGEVIEWS FOR VISITSYRACUSE.COM

OF 45% FROM 2021

141,434

141,434 VISITS TO THE BLOG ON VISITSYRACUSE.COM OF 75% FROM 2021

In 2022, Visit Syracuse began bringing travel writers and influencers back to town. The team hosted five writers/influencers inperson and had several pieces placed in top digital travel publications.

Our PR team also assisted our Syracuse region partners, such as the Syracuse International Film Festival and the Landmark Theatre, in garnering local media attention on NewsChannel 9’s Bridge Street.

Visit Syracuse works in close partnership with I LOVE NY to promote the region. From attending seasonal Media Nights in NYC to pitching story ideas for journalists and giving monthly updates on happenings and information for blog posts. We even update listings and events in our area to appear on ILNY.com as well as

FingerLakesTravelNY.com

36K FOLLOWERS

“If you love the delicate flavor of a small, early summer potato with its translucent skin and creamy flesh, you will fall in love with a Syracusestyle salt potato.”

- “12 Famous Foods To Try On New York’s Upstate Eats Trail”, Travel Awaits

“It’s wonderful to behold a city— the spiritual and geographic heart of New York State—that has reinvented itself. The neighborhoods fringing downtown Syracuse have an amazing range of people hailing from every curve of Mother Earth, and they all towed-in their fabulous dishes.”

- “Syracuse: New York State’s Multicultural Food & Live Music Hub”, Bruce Northam, Johnny Jet

37K FOLLOWERS

New New New Ne

New New new New new New SOCIAL MEDIA

5,695,219 5,695,219 IMPRESSIONS ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

47,358+ 47,358+

TOTAL NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS

124,228 124,228 ENGAGEMENT ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS

Expanding YouTube content and video storytelling!

The Visit Syracuse YouTube channel has been taking off, with 11,800 views within the last year, and an increase in both long and short form content. The most popular short to date has been “Winter is coming to Syracuse, NY. While a video highlighting the annual Syracuse Nationals has been the most viewed.

New in 2023 is our Spotlight series, highlighting local businesses and attractions. There have been seven completed so far this year with the most popular covering Cathy’s Cookie Kitchen!

FOLLOW US!

sales & services

The Visit Syracuse Sales team works year-round to book small and large conferences, conventions and sporting events in the Greater Syracuse region. The team works with event planners, associations and organizations as well as individuals to find meeting spaces, locations, hotels and more!

52K+ 52K+ CONVENTION ROOM NIGHTS BOOKED

$25M+ $25M+ IN ECONOMIC IMPACT

ONONDAGA COUNTY HOTEL COMPARISONS

Did You Know?

MEET SYRACUSE MEET SYRACUSE

The Visit Syracuse sales and services team holds semi-annual Meet Syracuse events, where they invite local meeting planners and association heads to learn more about hosting their next meeting or event in Syracuse!

GROUP TOUR MARKET

In the group tour market Visit Syracuse has been able to add several new tour itineraries with Syracuse serving as the hub. Here, our Tour & Travel Manager welcomes the Blue Lakes Motor Coach group!

Visit Syracuse brings in and assits with several sport and hobby events throughout the year including:

Syracuse Nationals

The Basketball Tournament (TBT)

The Wild Carp Classic Bassmaster Northern Open ....and more!

VISITOR SERVICES

The Visit Syracuse team offers convention and event services to groups that book in the region. From welcome bags, signage, and fully staffing events with knowledable locals at our concierge desks, we have services available for any size group!

92% 92% 95% 95%

The Visit Syracuse Sales and Services team attend several trade shows every year to find new conventions, events and meeting planners to bring to Syracuse. Here, Jeff Mickle, attends the Sports, Events & Tourism Association Symposium with fellow NYS tourism professionals.

Did You know?

ESPN ADS ESPN ADS

While The Basketball Tournament (TBT) held a regional at SRC Arena last year, Visit Syracuse created several commercial spots to be shown on ESPN during TBT games in other bracket cities, including the Rucker Park games broadcast from New York City. These commercials showed the seasonality and fantastic things for visitors to do here year-round!

OF 2023 MEETING PLANNERS THAT HOSTED AN EVENT IN ONONDAGA COUNTY SAID THEY WOULD RETURN

OF 2023 MEETING PLANNERS WERE VERY SATISFIED WORKING WITH OUR EXPERTS

“The Visit Syracuse team is professional and helpful. They make the success of our event through the provision of volunteers and keeping in contact with our hotels. We are thankful to have their service and help!”

- New York Youth Convention Assemblies of God

WELCOME CENTER

DID YOU KNOW?

VISIT SYRACUSE MANAGES THE CENTRAL NEW YORK WELCOME CENTER, LOCATED AT DESTINY USA, ON BEHALF OF TASTE NY.

The Welcome Center offers visitors and locals alike the opportunity to explore interactive I LOVE NY displays, purchase Syracuse area and regional Taste NY products and learn more about what New York State and the Syracuse area has to offer, from things to do, where you should visit and what you should try!

The Welcome Center store offers a variety of seasonal and everyday products, many from right here in Syracuse! It is also the only place in the Syracuse area to purchase the iconic I Love NY products, outside of Hancock Intl. Airport.

CHECK THIS OUT!

TOP SELLING WELCOME CENTER BRANDS AND PRODUCTS: #1 #2

#3 #4

#5 #6

ILNY Branded Items

Chocolate Pizza Co. Peanut Butter Wings

Nelson Farms Riggie Sauce

Syracuse Salt Flake Salt Shakers

BeeKind Finger Lakes Candle

Dutch Hill 12 oz. Maple Syrup

$30M+ $30M+

IN PRODUCTION BUDGETS BROUGHT TO ONONDGA COUNTY IN 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

2022 was one of the best years yet for production budgets brought into the area. The power team duo of American High Studios and Hulu streaming services released films such as It’s a Wonderful Binge, I Love My Dad, Crush & Sex Appeal, in addition to filming three others and renewing their production contract.

The Visit Syracuse Film Office drives film and television production in the Central New York region. The Office pitches major production studios and networks to film in the area, utilizing state tax incentives, county rebates and talented local crew. In 2022, Visit Syracuse Film partnered with the Visit Binghamton Film Office to assist in promoting production in the Southern Tier. Visit Syracuse Film Office ads appeared in Variety magazine and in an e-blast through the Location Managers Guild International.

Film

PARTNER METRICS

341 341

DIRECT PARTNER REFERRALS

(IN RESPONSE TO MEETING PLANNERS & DIRECT PHONE CALLS)

424,728 424,728

CLICKS TO PARTNER LISTINGS ON VISITSYRACUSE.COM

182 182

INDIVIDUAL LOCAL AND REGIONAL BUSINESSES OR ATTRACTIONS

HIGHLIGHTED IN 2022-2023 VISITORS GUIDE

$31K $31K

IN SALES GENERATED BY VS ONLINE HOTEL

BOOKING ENGINE HOTEL BOOKINGS FOR 2023 TODATE

VisitSyracuse.com

CONNECT WITH VS

There are a variety of ways businesses and individuals can connect with Visit Syracuse for partnering, promoting or just learning a bit more about what we do!

EVENT CALENDAR

Among the most popular sections of VisitSyracuse.com, our Events Calendar and the What’s Happening this Weekend page provide great ways to let the public know about your upcoming event! Users can submit their own events, which will then enter an approval queu. All events can be easily uploaded after making a user login here: events.visitsyracuse.com

Did You Know: The Visit Syracuse events calendar is connected to the CNY Arts and Downtown Committee calendars so you can enter your event one time and have it sent to ALL 3 calendars!

WEBSITE LISTING MEDIA RELATIONS

Businesses in Onondaga County can have their own FREE listing on VisitSyracuse.com. You can even have access to update it yourself, upload pictures, edit contact information and more! Looking to get your business on our site, or gain greater access to your already existing listing? Contact: Brittany Juravich at bjuravich@visitsyracuse.com

Note: Popular restaurants and attractions may already have existing listings, added by our team.

YOUTUBE

Visit Syracuse creates and hosts videos—from retail shops, featured festivals, craft beers and more—on youtube.com/ VisitSyracuse. Feel free to request your favorite business to highlight with one of our Youtube Spotlights, or just let us know if you’re open to filming at your location or event! Contact: Lindsay Raychel at lraychel@visitsyracuse.com.

Our media relations team interacts continuously with the press, I Love NY and PR agencies. Keep us updated on your news, so we can include it in our pitches and press materials as appropriate. Send your seasonal and event-related updates one month out for short-lead coverage and six months out for long-lead coverage. And tell us about your fun, quirky or underthe-radar stories any time of the year. Contact: Lindsay Raychel.

PHOTOGRAPHY+

We are always adding to our vast library of images and video footage—much of which is available to media, ILNY and additional hospitality partners for editorial use. Let us know if you’d like us to consider adding your high-quality photos orb-roll to our expansive library.Contact: Brittany Juravich.

VISITORS GUIDE

Visit Syracuse distributes our annual FREE Visit Syracuse Visitors Guide in bulk to The Oncenter, Destiny USA, area hotels, visitor information centers and AAA offices throughout the Northeast and more! If you would like a box of guides or to get on our regular distribution list let us know!