Never mind summer. Fall might be the best reason to visit Long Island.
That’s according to Kristen Reynolds. The CEO and president of Discover Long Island points out that in the fall, “the summer crowds are gone and the weather is still warm. Everything is still blooming, and it feels festive.”
And, Reynolds said, people don’t have to trek out east to enjoy Long Island’s fall magic.
“There are activities from end to end,” she said.
Tourism on Long Island generated $6.1 billion in visitor spending pre-pandemic, according to Discover Long Island, the region’s official tourism promotion agency. And while the industry – made up of small businesses, including restaurants, retailers and other venues – was hit hard by COVID, Long Island is faring better than other regions, experts said.
But a missing piece, international and business travel, has not yet returned to the region, Reynolds said.
Still, when it comes to revenue per available room, Long Island is up 61.8 percent from July 2020, compared with New York State, which is up 22.5 percent, and the United States, which is up 39.6 percent. That’s according to CoStar, which tracks hospitality data.
“As a whole, Long Island is really doing well,” Reynolds said.
Kristen Reynolds
For travel enthusiasts, there’s no time like the present to get away, said Philip Ballard, chief communications officer and head of investor relations at HotelPlanner.
“The people who feel comfortable traveling are not going to curtail their plans,” he said.
As the Delta variant picked up, Ballard said, “We saw a small drop in bookings – not a significant drop. It could be attributed to the end of summer season. Around this time, we see a 2 percent drop. We’re watching it closely … but it’s small.”
Now, those traveling in a region dimmed by COVID variants are encountering new challenges. Reservations, for example, at restaurants, hotels and other venues may be more elusive now as people look for getaways and activities. All of this is happening at a time when the current labor shortage can mean fewer hospitality workers, prompting longer wait times as venues aim to provide a good customer experience.
That’s where planning can go a long way, said Paul Amoruso, who owns hotels across Long Island.
“There’s a frenzy of demand,” he told LIBN.
That’s especially true on Long Island as people are finally hosting the weddings, reunions and other celebrations they had postponed during the earlier phases of the pandemics.
Now, these events have “pushed into September through December, which historically didn’t happen,” he said.
It’s not just wedding attendees and the like booking rooms. Other hotel guests, he said, are people who finally feel safe to visit with relatives who live in the region, or who had Long Island on their bucket list and, having self-isolated for so long, want to finally experience the region’s many attractions.
Having suffered through COVID’s economic shutdown, now “we’re at 100 percent at all my properties,” he said.
And while that news is welcoming, he said, he is now “monitoring carefully to deliver for them the experiences they expect.”
The properties put all of the COVID-safety protocols in place at his venues, he said, adding “we go out of our way, so people feel safe and happy in their jobs,” and so that guests also feel at ease.
But with the new influx of demand, he said, he “encourages people to book early to manage their expectations” for facilities that include the gym and hot tub, and for those looking for tee times at the popular Bethpage State Park Golf Course. He also advises people to “expect longer wait times.”
Long Island’s revenue per avaialble room is faring better than that of the nation, according to CoStar, which tracks hospitality data.
Long Island, of course, is a draw for its beaches, vineyards, Gold Coast mansion tours and cider mills, Ballard said. And the region offers destination excursions, such as leisure fishing, popular with fathers and sons, and bachelor parties, he said.
And while apple picking and vineyard hopping on the North Fork beckon, Discover Long Island builds awareness to other communities that appeal to tourists and locals alike, Reynolds said. That includes this fall, the Pumpkin Blaze at Old Bethpage Village Restoration, featuring thousands of hand-carved pumpkins that are lit up at night. Other highlights include a fall festival at Dee’s Nursery in Oceanside, and Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, with its gardens and walking paths.
Many of Long Island’s villages are filled with unique offerings.
In Cutchogue, for example, Atelier Disset offers artisanal chocolates from Ursula XVII, a Michelin-trained pastry chef and chocolatier. The shop offers small-batch and signature chocolate collections and, like a fashion house, focuses on constant innovation.
Ursula XVII
“With our signature collection, we retire everything every six months,” she said.
The shop runs chocolate-making events and chocolate-painting classes, where participants paint with, and on, an edible chocolate canvas.
Highlighting Long Island artisans, the shop recently introduced an “Ode to the North Fork” collection, infusing flavors from Lieb Cellars, Fishers Island Lemonade, Aldo’s Coffee, Chrysalis Apothecary, 8 Hands Farm, Lavender by the Bay, North Fork Donut Company and Greenport Harbor Brewery. And so that chocolate enthusiasts can enjoy Long Island chocolate year round, the retailer will soon offer subscription boxes.
Over in Water Mill, the Parrish Art Museum features a full calendar of music and talks, and on Sept. 17, the annual OLA Latino Film Festival, organized with Organización Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island, featuring an outdoor screening of the film “La Llorona” by Jayro Bustamante. The event includes a reception and a recorded Q-and-A with the filmmaker, as well as a gallery tour.
And while East End venues are “a mecca” for Long Island, Reynolds said Discover Long Island highlights other spots in the region so as not to “inundate” those communities.
“Tourism exists on Long Island for the residents to have a great quality of life,” she said, pointing to tax revenue that the industry brings to the region. “We never want tourism to be a negative for the residents.”
And while the North Fork is dotted with wine makers, people can enjoy vineyard experiences further west, at Harmony Vineyard in St. James, and Del Vino Vineyards in Northport, she said.
And Discover Long Island’s “Downtown Deals Travel Pass” app highlights attractions and discounts in communities across Long Island, helping to “drive business into communities and downtowns where we really need it now,” Reynolds said.
Autumn in New York is such an attraction that iloveny.com now offers an interactive foliage progression map.
Paul Amoruso
Amoruso said he hopes the fall momentum will carry into the winter months. That could happen, he said, now that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer’s COVID vaccine, prompting corporations to direct at least some employees to return to the office, at least in New York City.
“It could change the mindset” of Long Island employers, he said, adding that would help bring back corporate travel to Long Island.
Corporate pep rallies that welcome team members back to the office, with say, excursions to a vineyard, could help give an appreciated boost to Long Island’s tourism industry.
“It could bolster the shoulder season,” he said.
That outcome, in turn, could help fuel leisure tourism that much more.
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