Tourism and employment in the Adirondack Park

Abstract

Attempts to estimate the direct impacts of tourism on large regions are often thwarted by the cost of primary surveys that use probability sampling techniques, and by the problem of separating tourist from resident expenditures in published secondary business data. This study used monthly employment data maintained by the state labor agency to investigate tourism impacts and seasonality in the Adirondack Park of northern New York State. It was found that such a data base can provide reasonable estimates of tourism-related employment and excellent estimates of seasonality. Furthermore, comparison of two time periods provides indication not only of rate of growth, but of change in seasonality patterns. Such unaggregated data typically have legislative-mandated confidentiality constraints, however, and special working relationships will have to be developed with the agency before such data bases can be accessed.