Sometimes it seems all you ever read about in the Hudson Valley are lack of decent paying jobs and declining populations, but there is some good news according to the latest stats. Tourism is up. Dutchess Tourism, Inc says that tourism in Dutchess County set a new record in 2014. According to statistics, business measured at $508.9 million for 2014. which marks a 5.7 percent increase over 2013.

According to numbers posted at the Poughkeepsie Journal, the biggest part of the spending comes from food and beverage at 27 percent ($119.7 million) followed by transportation at 22 percent, and lodging at 20 percent.

Geoff Lacher, a senior economist with the Dutchess Tourism says that the calculations  focus on the traveler component, and not on local residents' spending. Lacher says the research is taken from data measured by specialist firms that do surveys to determine  travelers' spending. It is later matched against reports of hotel room bookings and other economic research for each region and county.

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