Upstate communities that rely on tourist dollars are bemoaning the loss of an I Love New York program that gives matching funds to counties, the AP reports.
“This is our season, this our time, this is when we’re luring those travelers and those expendable dollars to our back yards, and the lights are out,” said Roberta Byron-Lockwood, president of the Sullivan County Visitors Association in the Catskills. “It’s going to be a lost season if something is not done immediately.”
The state is proposing to cut tourism funding by 13 percent — from $12.2 million to $10.6 million — as it deals with a $9.2 billion budget gap for the fiscal year that began April 1.
On the bright side, at least Facebook is free -- and the Sullivan County Visitors Association is on it.
