Tourism is big business in Buffalo and Erie County and it’s getting bigger with each passing year.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in new tourism

assets and attractions in the last ten years, in projects as diverse as Canalside,

the Richardson Olmsted Complex, the Buffalo Zoo, HarborCenter, the Curtiss Hotel, Riverworks

and the Martin House Complex. More than a dozen new hotel

projects – large and small, city and suburban – have just opened their

doors or are in various stages of planning and construction.

Our region’s tourism industry employs more people, supports more

families and generates more tax dollars than ever before.

Tourism in Erie County is a more than

$1.6 billion industry, spent across a diverse range of sectors

$530IN ANNUALTAX RELIEFPER HOUSEHOLD

$201,000,642was generated in sales taxes paid by visitors in

2014, reducing the tax burden on every

household in Erie County by over $500.

298MILLION

$

IN LODGING

162MILLION$

IN RECREATION

575MILLION

$

IN FOOD & BEVERAGE

355MILLION

$

IN RETAIL & SERVICE

229MILLION

$

IN TRANSPORTATION

16MILLION

IN SECOND HOMES

IS GROWING CREATES JOBS SUSTAINS LOCAL BUSINESSES

GENERATES TAX REVENUE

T O U R I S M

Economic impact and spending numbers sourced from Economic Impact of Tourism in New York, 2014 Calendar Year, Greater Niagara Focus

Households are defined as all persons who occupy a housing unit as their usual place of residence. According to the US Census 2010-2014, there were 381,783 households in Erie County.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/36029.html

29,888in Erie County

(6.5% of the total workforce)

JOBS

Tourism is the fourth largest employer

in New York State (based on direct

employment), with 747,948 jobs.

In Erie County, 29,888 people are directly employed in tourism,

behind finance and insurance and

ahead of manufacturing.

$34TO $1FOR EVERY $1 INVESTED,

VISIT BUFFALO NIAGARA RETURNED

$34 TO THE COMMUNITY.

By bringing conventions,

amateur athletic events and

group tours to Western New York,

Visit Buffalo Niagara generated

more than $147 million

in economic impact in 2015.

VISIT BUFFALO NIAGARA WORKS TO GROW

VISITOR SPENDING

...and, a greater investment equals a greater return.

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$

International Exposure

Did you know that Buffalo Niagara is one of the

top 20 U.S. Regions for inbound visitation from

overseas international visitors? In 2014, Visit

Buffalo Niagara made an unprecedented push into

overseas markets to drive that visitation even higher.

The VBN team collaborated with Brand USA to premiere

three Buffalo videos geared toward British, German

and Chinese tourists. All three videos can be found at

VisitBuffaloNiagara.com, VisitTheUSA.com and the

VBN YouTube channel. Visit Buffalo Niagara also offers

its website in seven different languages!

JIM BUSH BILL WIPPERT

51% of all hotel room nights booked by VBN

were related to amateur sports.

In 2015, local ambassadors helped to bring nearly

80 of the 337 conventions, conferences and/or

amateur sporting events hosted in Buffalo.

INDIA

GERMANY

CHINA

c d

TOP INTERNATIONAL ARRIVAL MARKETS

CANADA

b

ITALY

e f

UNITED KINGDOM

g

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Visiting media help shape perceptions of Buffalo Niagara.

In 2015, VBN’s efforts yielded 230 out-of-town media hits

valued at $4.1 million in earned media value.

For more information on the importance of travel and tourism to Buffalo Niagara’s economy, go to VisitBuffaloNiagara.com/about.

VISIT BUFFALO NIAGARA sells and markets our assets and attractions to visitors outside the Buffalo Niagara region as a convention, tourism and leisure destination for the economic benefit of the community. VBN is Erie County’s lead marketing organization for conventions, meetings, amateur sporting events, cultural and heritage tourism and consumer travel.

403 Main Street » Suite 630 » Buffalo, New York 14203 » 716.852.0511 » 888.228.3369

VisitBuffaloNiagara.com

TourismMatters

VisitBuffaloNiagara.com

TOURISM MEANS ECONOMIC GROWTH FOR BUFFALO NIAGARA

RHEA

AN

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STEVE DEMEO