Can Hudson Valley's tourism boom outlast the end of COVID?
Cabin fever and out-of-state travel restrictions fueled COVID-era interest in the Catskills and the Hudson Valley last year. During the pandemic, cities seemed weirdly irrelevant, said author and historian Russell Shorto, whose work has often touched upon New York Citys relationship with the rest of the Hudson River region. All the reasons to live in a city were suddenly unavailable: The streets were empty, museums and bookstores and restaurants were closed. City people looked around and said Lets go to the Hudson Valley. And why not  Its manageable. Its open. Its laid out for you, just head straight north.  Airbnbs data suggests the regional pull will continue, at least in the immediate future. In a corporate trend report released May 24, Airbnb said: This summer, the most popular type of travel is families flocking to remote destinations from their big city home.  Whats more: summer Airbnb bookings in rural destinations have doubled since 2019, and the number of travelers whove reserved stays within 300 miles of home is up 15 percent since January 2020. In short, summer 2021 promises to be a season of buzzing regional shops and restaurants, more hikers on popular trails and crowds of unfamiliar faces around your secret swimming hole. Shorto, the author of The Island at the Center of the World, predicts that the appeal of a rural vacation may wane as cities reawaken: New York will ultimately become some version of what it was before. As things normalize again, that impulse to leave cities will be removed as city-dwellers rediscover the joys of living where they are.  Not everyone agrees. Both distant/international travel and weekend or drive-market trips have coexisted for a long time, said Justin Watzka of Callicoon Hills, a remodeled resort opening this year in the Catskills. Watzka says the ease and affordability that are naturally baked into a regional trip will always have staying power. Its much easier for most of us to spontaneously and affordably book a weekend trip upstate than it is to go on a long-haul trip. At Callicoon Hills, we think of ourselves as an informal vacation resort  you dont have to go far to have a relaxing respite. LEGOLAND New York Resort  The broader Hudson Valley region has historically leaned on New York City to fuel a healthy portion of its tourism. In recent years, investment in the region has increased to broaden the scope of things to do and places to stay. Notably, the $500 million Legoland theme park just opened in Goshen with a resort hotel following this summer, while the newly completed 750-mile Empire State Trail threads through the Hudson Valley, beckoning hikers, walkers and bikers. The Catskills area has added 2,000 rooms to its lodging inventory over the past two years, according to the Catskills Association for Tourism Services, with several new high-end resorts opening this year, including Callicoon Hills. And across the river, Dutchess County has at least 15 additional hotel projects in various stages of planning, including the $500 million Bellefied at Historic Hyde Park project, which will bring two hotels, culinary shops, restaurants and more in one hospitality and retail complex located across the street from the Culinary Institute of America. The region now rolls deep on updated travel options. But to understand a post-pandemic travel appetite, we look to China, the pandemics ground zero, to see how its tourism trendlines evolved once COVID was under control. Recovery data in a McKinsey & Company study, Mapping the Travel Sectors Recovery, prepared for the January 2021 Bloomberg New Economy Forum, shows that after plummeting more than 80 percent in the first quarter of 2020, Chinese domestic air and hotel booking numbers completely bounced back to pre-pandemic levels by October. Flights to Miami-type destinations in China are up  in the report, the late Arne Sorenson, CEO of Marriott, was quoted: The domestic market in Sanya  Chinas Florida  is already stronger than it was before COVID-19.  But highways and high-speed train networks also have proliferated across the country, making domestic travel to rural destinations easier. Two other hospitality CEOs, the report noted, said demand for remote, nature-based hotels has increased.  Courtesy of Glen Falls House  The world may be taking a collective breath at the moment, opting to stay close to home until the threat of the pandemic is stamped out, or until restrictions are lifted. Parts of China, after all, are in lockdown again as it fights the Delta variant. Destination Analysts, the research group, released findings from a post-Memorial Day survey that indicate 8 in 10 Americans declare themselves ready to travel, a statistic that, while falling short of the complete recovery of Chinese airline bookings, still signals a big step forward. The survey also reveals good news for the Hudson Valley: though interest in visiting cities is gaining some traction, Destination Analysts reports small towns and rural destinations are the likeliest types of destinations that travelers will visit. (Analyses of Airbnbs and VRBOs booking trends showed similar wander-love for bucolic places.) The second home effect  It's this reliance on one another that the Hudson Valley and New York City share that Watzka thinks is an asset. He and his partner Kathleen Bunnage also own a hotel in Lake Tahoe called The Coachman; in many ways, he says, Lake Tahoe is to the Bay area as the Hudson Valley is to New York City, and there are parallels that can be drawn between these markets to learn what makes them thrive. One thing that were seeing a lot of [in Tahoe] is first home - second home buyers  essentially, people from those urban markets who rent in the city are buying in the country, although it also happens to be their second home, Watzka says. Thats helping to anchor people to specific communities and create new businesses and investment, which likewise increases the draw of these destinations.  Laura Nitz  In other words, the second-home market  which is very much alive and well in the Hudson Valley  is what Watzka believes can give a region more tourism staying power than areas relying only on occasional visitors. Another parallel he draws from the travel market in California that he thinks applies here  and that he says is crucial to keeping the areas tourism industry competitive  is affordable lodging for hospitality staff. Hiring enough qualified people to keep resorts and restaurants humming for travelers in the Hudson Valley has been a challenge. It sounds clich, but state and local governments can help by supporting denser housing development in targeted areas, he suggests. While the small-town charm in town centers and open space can be preserved with these friendly zoning plans, it also gives people who work in  and staff  these destinations a much-needed place to live.  After the turbulent year and a half weve just experienced, we all know predicting the future is a fools game. But according to unblinking survey numbers, post-lockdown Americans are increasingly eager to travel, and rural destinations within driving distance from home will be THE tourism hotspots this summer. New tourism infrastructure  in the shape of innovative hotels, shops, restaurants and attractions  is setting the stage for an even more sustained period of Hudson Valley. With any luck, theres a middle path that runs straight up the Hudson River. Maybe city people will continue to come to visit on extended weekend getaways while planning international, big-city, bucket-list trips, too. Maybe local communities can figure out how to reap the economic fruits of tourism without squandering the inherent charm of small towns and country roads. And maybe this graceful balancing act will work to create a golden age of tourism, in which we all can enjoy the beauty of the region without stepping on each others toes.