Buffalo Enters A Tourism Boom

We all know the City of Good Neighbors was on full display in April, thanks to the cloudy eclipse, but it turns out people have been flocking to Buffalo and Erie County in record numbers for the past few years.

Turns out, they were all looking for the food and beverages this region is known for and loves so well.

Spending in Erie County was up 11.2% to $2.4 billion in 2023, topping the previous record of $2.2 billion set just a year earlier, according to data released this week from Visit Buffalo Niagara.

And this is all from people who don’t live here, coming into the region because they want to see what we’re all about. These are levels surpassing what was common before the pandemic as well.

Money spent by tourists was up across several categories, including lodging ($455 million, up 13.5%), recreation ($267 million, up 16.1%), food and drinks (an incredible $1.03 billion, a 11.1% increase), retail shopping ($465 million, up 5.2%), transportation like buses, trains, rideshares, etc. ($181 million, up 18.3%), and second home ownership for a longer-term getaway whenever the mood strikes ($23 million, up 4.5%).
“Buffalo and Erie County are fortunate to have an exciting visitor experience that continues to bring more visitors year after year,” said Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. Tourists help support a whopping 28,650 jobs in 2023, an increase of 4.6% from 2022.

“Tourism has also proven to be a good job creator for Western New York. This is especially true in Erie County,” he says, adding that tourism is linked to an 11.2% increase in overall labor income in 2023 over 2022.

Were it not for a booming tourism market, the average Erie County household would pay nearly $650 more per year in taxes.

Kaler expressed his appreciation for visitors from Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, in particular, saying tourists from those cities “tend to stay longer and spend more money than people who drive to Buffalo from closer places like Central New York, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.”

These numbers are based on research commissioned by the state and conducted by Tourism Economics, a subsidiary of Oxford Economics Company.
The report also found, statewide, tourists spent $88 billion, an increase of more than $9 billion and marking the third year in a row for double-digit percentage growth in spending. The $88 billion spent across the state resulted in a total economic impact of $137 billion, generating $11 billion in state and local tax revenue. The full report can be found here.

In all, the state welcomed an estimated 306.3 million visitors in 2023, a new record, said Gov. Kathy Hochul in announcing the results of the research.
“New York State is synonymous with tourism; it’s part of the fabric, history, and economy of our incredibly diverse state,” she said. “As we approach the fall foliage and travel season, we are welcoming more visitors than ever, and their presence is supporting businesses and communities in every corner of the state.”