Senator O'Mara statement on Yahoo! Travel's latest spotlight on the Finger Lakes

Albany, N.Y., May 3—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats) released the following statement on this week's announcement that Yahoo! Travel has named the Finger Lakes alongside some of the world’s most famous tourist attractions as “Lakeside vacations that have it all”:

“The Finger Lakes region has long been proud of our reputation as one of the world’s leading tourist destinations.  This latest reaffirmation by Yahoo! of the quality of the Finger Lakes region’s natural beauty, hospitality, family friendliness, food and wine, and parks and trails is outstanding news.  It shows that our traditions of excellence carry on and contribute to a way of life that’s on par with so many of the world’s great places.”

Read more in today's Star-Gazette.

O'Mara's 58th Senate District covers a large section of the Finger Lakes region.

Lake George in the Adirondacks also made the Yahoo! Travel list. 

The complete list with additional information can be found at http://travel.yahoo.com/blogs/compass/lakeside-vacations-170410748.html.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also praised the Yahoo! Travel designation: http://www.governor.ny.gov/

According to the governor’s announcement, “As the fifth-largest employment sector in New York, tourism supported 694,000 jobs and generated $16.6 billion in wages in 2011. In that year alone, the Empire State attracted 202 million total visitors, an 8.3% increase from the year before, and 76.2 million overnight visitors. This has resulted in $53.9 billion in direct tourism spending and $6.9 billion in state and local tax revenue. To build on these successes and continue to boost tourism and create jobs, the Governor also recently announced several new initiatives to spotlight the State’s natural beauty and recreational opportunities and attract visitors to Upstate New York, as well as Market NY and Taste-NY, to promote ‘made in New York’ products.”