Revenues Rise Despite Attendance Drop at LI Parks

John Mitty Tuesday, September 3, 2013

According to WCBS 880, attendance dropped this summer at Long Island’s parks and beaches.  This was not exactly unexpected following the hard winter.  Not only did Hurricane Sandy cause damage to Long Island’s infrastructure, but this summer the weather was not overly conducive to tourism at the start of the season either.  This in particular caused attendance to drop.  Memorial Day was rained out, and it was so windy that the first day of the Bethpage Air Show had to be cancelled.  And then in July, the weather abruptly took a turn for hot—very hot.  That also drove crowds away from the parks and beaches.  About 9 million visitors attended state parks and beaches between Memorial Day and the end of August.  Last year there were almost a million more than that.

Nonetheless, there is some good news, which is that state parks on LI actually generated more revenue than last year.  This year, revenue jumped to $16.5 million, up from last year’s $16.3 million.  Much of the revenue came from camping and golfing.  While the weather during certain parts of the summer hindered beach attendance, it was good for golfing.  Hopefully next year the weather will cooperate, and attendance and revenue will both go up.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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