ALBANY, NY – Five New York State American Hockey League teams – Albany Devils, Utica Comets, Rochester Americans, Binghamton Senators and Syracuse Crunch announced a partnership with Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism/I LOVE NEW YORK. The announcement, first made at the Third Tourism Summit held in October, is part of a $50 million commitment to the tourism industry to promote statewide tourism, create jobs, and attract more visitors to every region of New York.
“Tourism is vital to New York’s economy – it supports more than 850,000 jobs and creates economic opportunity in every region of the state,” said Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky. “When people visit New York, they fall in love with all that our state has to offer. We are proud to work with the New York American Hockey League teams to further increase travel throughout the state and support the tourism industry as it continues to grow.”
The five AHL New York Hockey teams will partner with I LOVE NY as they aim to increase the economic impact of spectators at New York winter sporting events and expose sports fans to New York State winter getaway opportunities. New York State tourism destinations will be promoted at team games and events and the AHL schedule will be featured on I LOVE NY platforms.
“Partnering with I LOVE NY is an honor and another example of how their organization greatly impacts our State’s tourism industry. We look forward to growing the sport of hockey in the State of New York while simultaneously having a positive impact on tourism,” said Utica Comets President Robert Esche.
The third New York State Tourism Summit brought hundreds of tourism experts to the Capitol to discuss innovative ideas and new ways to encourage travel to all 11 vacations regions of the State. As a result of the Governor’s support of tourism, the industry has seen an increase in spending, state and local tax revenue, visitors and employment since 2011, and a record-breaking economic impact of $100.1 billion in 2014.
