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Tag: long island tourism

  • Cantor: Long Island, the Ryder Cup and rowdy golf fans | Long Island Business News

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    In Brief:
    • President Trump’s visit added spectacle to the Ryder Cup at
    • Hotels across Long Island and NYC offered high-value tourism packages
    • Thousands of hotel room nights generated millions in local revenue
    • Rowdy fan behavior overshadowed efforts to promote Long Island hospitality

    It was to be a different 45th Ryder Cup Tournament at Bethpage Black. It had to be, as I heard the roar of Air Force One with it’s escort of two fighter jets heading to Republic Airport with the President of the United States. To be sure, a presidential visit is a big deal, and for Long Island, wanting to put its best tourism foot forward for the golf world to see, the first round of the Ryder Cup Tournament and President Trump seemed a perfect fit.

    Notwithstanding the thrilling finish that the American golfers gave us with their effort to win back the Ryder Cup, we were all left disappointed as Europe once again retained the cup in the biennial competition. However, for Long Island, the Ryder Cup tournament was more than just a golf tournament between 24 of world’s greatest American and European golfers.

    The Ryder Cup was an opportunity to showcase Long Island, and as previous Ryder Cups have shown, it was an opportunity not to be wasted. In addition to Long Island and New York golf fans, the Ryder Cup attracts both domestic and international spectators, both in person and on television. If past Ryder Cup Tournaments are an indication, those attending the Ryder Cup will extend their visit to Long Island and the New York City area.

    During the 2023 Ryder Cup Tournament in Rome, 19% of visitors said they planned an extended stay in the Italian city, with nearly two-thirds of the spectators expressing a desire to return to the city within a year. Similarly, eight percent of spectators at the 2018 Ryder Cup Tournament in Paris, planned an extended visit, with 60% of the international spectators intending to return to the ”City of Light” within the year.

    The Ryder Cup Tournament at Bethpage Black afforded Long Island the same opportunity to put its best hospitality foot forward, and while the welcome mat was out in Nassau and ‘s hotels, spectators had choices.

    Besides the golf competition, the competition for room night reservations was fierce. As the tournament approached, there were 83,288 hotel rooms to choose from with 65,000 hotel rooms in Manhattan, 3,796 rooms near JFK Airport, 3,524 near LaGuardia and 10,968 on Long Island.  Months prior to the tournament, millions of dollars of hotel revenues were already generated from 12,054 Long Island hotel room nights reserved, with 6,568 room nights in western Suffolk County and 5,496 in

    The competition for spectator tourism dollars continued, as hotels offered packages that included transportation to and from Bethpage Black, tournament tickets, hotel accommodations, and food and beverage. New York City hotels offered per-person packages from $1,350 for a daily trip, $2,120 for a single night and $4,295 for a two-night stay. Long Island hotels countered with three-night, per-person packages from $3,150 to $5,895 with a four-night stay package offered at $5,295.

    However, with all the hard work invested in showcasing Long Island’s best, the loud and rowdy golf spectators showed Long Island’s worst. Images are worth a thousand words, and the rude fans painted Long Island with a bad look, at a time when Long Island wanted to put our best look forward.

    With the U.S. Open set to be held at Shinnecock Hills in June 2026, learning golf etiquette should be on this winter’s reading list.

     

    is director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy and former Suffolk County economic development commissioner. He can be reached at [email protected].


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  • Burman: Ryder Cup at Bethpage drives Long Island tourism and economy | Long Island Business News

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    In Brief:
    • draws 250,000 visitors to
    • Hotels and restaurants see record bookings across Long Island
    • Homes near Bethpage rent for $3,000 per night during event
    • Global TV audience of 500M showcases
    • Event fosters community pride and shared experiences

    I don’t play golf.

    However, I know colleagues who do. In many instances, however, they will candidly admit it’s not about placing that little white ball in a cup far, far away that is blocked by sand and water. Rather, it’s about doing business on the fairway, creating what has been alleged to be a bonding experience in a game that the late comedian Robin Williams once described as a baffling, maddening and expensive sport that is inexplicably played 18 times.

    One suspects, however, no one is “bonding” in what will be a ruthless competition to win the Ryder Cup on the challenging grounds of Bethpage Golf Course. There is no cash prize for the golfer athlete winning the Ryder Cup (although there are lucrative appearance fees). While their reward is the honor of lifting the trophy before an adoring audience, for Long Island the Ryder Cup is very much a cash prize.

    Those who have driven by the golf course over the last several weeks have been stunned to see a literal township of temporary multilevel suites, grandstands, broadcast studios and support structures consume a good portion of the greens. Hotels as far as Garden City have been booked for months, and in some cases, for years, to ensure celebrity names would get the accommodations they wanted. Long Island restaurants are likely telling their regulars that getting reservations this weekend may be a tad bit difficult given that there are a quarter million people descending on Bethpage and at least 65% of them are from off island.

    For those whose homes are adjacent to the golf course there are reports that some owners are leasing out their places for $3,000 a night. If that is too expensive, you might consider using their driveway at several hundred dollars a day.

    Yet there are strategic economic returns for Long Island that may not become immediately apparent. An international focus on the region comes with coverage of the Ryder Cup with a potential global television audience of half a billion people. No state or local government tourism agency would have the multi-million-dollar budget to reach that many potential visitors to the Island.

    There are also serious intangible rewards that go beyond the cash register. Sporting become shared experiences that can bring communities together and for Long Island, that too often views itself as a series of profoundly separate communities, that is a welcome change. For non-golfers, the Ryder Cup may become similar to how people who don’t usually watch tennis might tune in for Wimbledon, or casual baseball fans get seriously invested in the World Series. For non-golfers such as myself, it is a chance to watch from a comfortable distance the masters of a difficult sport compete for honors.

    Robin Williams envisioned the demonic mastermind who first conjured golf, telling his companions, “Here’s my idea for a sport: Knock a ball in a gopher hole! But it’s different than pool…you don’t use a straight stick but one that’s crooked… after whacking away and missing, you feel like you are going to have a stroke, so that’s what we’ll call it: A stroke.”

    It is typically hilarious Robin Williams banter but for Long Island hosting the Ryder Cup, our region’s economy is gratefully welcoming the enormous economic benefits that come with the game.

     

    David Burman is principal and president of development at B2K Development in Jericho.


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  • Long Island tourism hit $7.9B with record growth in 2024 | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • spending hit a record $7.9 billion in 2024

    • 78,418 tourism-related jobs supported across Nassau and Suffolk

    • Tourism generated $945 million in state and local tax revenue

    Long Island tourism in 2024 continued to reach record highs with $7.9 billion in spending, up 3.8 percent from the previous year.

    That’s according to the most recent report from New York State’s annual tourism report.

    also increased, with 78,418 jobs in 2024, up from 76,227 in 2023.

    “Sharing this third straight year of record-breaking data with our residents and downtown communities, who truly reap the benefits of a thriving visitor economy, is what makes this continued trajectory of year-over-year growth most meaningful,” Mitch Pally, president and CEO of , which promotes tourism in and the region, said last week in a news release about the findings. Pally described the tourism spending as “unprecedented.”

    The report featured an analysis of and its total economic impact on businesses, employment, personal income and taxes.

    “The numbers are showing exactly what we’ve always known: that is an incredible place to live and to visit,” Jaime Hollander, owner and managing director of RRDA, which promotes Nassau’s tourism, told LIBN. “With top-tier accommodations, , restaurants and venues, people know there’s so much more to explore in the county.”

    The report looked at tourism across 11 regions, with New York City remaining the largest in visitor spending, followed by Long Island and then the Hudson Valley. The report was released ahead of the , which is expected to bring at least $150 million in  to the region.

    Suffolk County saw more than $4.6 billion in spending, while Nassau County saw more than $3.2 billion.

    Spending on food and beverages and lodging accounted for 36 percent and 21 percent of total expenditures, respectively. and service stations contributed an additional $1.2 billion, representing 15 percent of overall spending.

    Tourism in Long Island yielded $945 million in state and local taxes in 2024, providing tax savings for households in Nassau and Suffolk. Sales, property and hotel bed taxes contributed $523 million in local taxes.

    Long Island tourism spurred $2.7 billion in direct personal income, and generated $4.1 billion in indirect and induced impact on such things as business-to-business spending and employee spending in the local economy.

    Discover Long Island credited its technology and ability to align with consumer trends, and aims to expand momentum through such upcoming events as the Ryder Cup and 2026 U.S. Open to “keep Long Island at the forefront of traveler’s minds.”

    Hollander said such events as the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, National BBQ Festival, summer concerts at Eisenhower Park and other events all contributed to help build Nassau as a tourist destination. The Ryder Cup along with the Legends of the LPGA, which is new to Eisenhower Park this year, would continue to advance tourism initiatives.

    Pally said the growth “within Suffolk County and beyond, is guided by the vision of our Board of Directors, strengthened by our partners and local leaders, and executed by our dedicated Discover Long Island team. Together, we are helping ensure that tourism continues to enhance the quality of life for Long Islanders while elevating our region’s standing among the nation’s premier destinations.”


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    Adina Genn

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