Although the severe economic downturn is definitely affecting many businesses, the May through October tourism system was surprisingly strong for the city.  All in all, the numbers demonstrate that even in tough times, Kingston has tremendous appeal to tourists, with its historic Uptown, unique museums, beautiful waterfront, comfortable lodgings, and excellent restaurants. The Uptown Farmer’s Market, UPAC, and special events like the Quad celebration were all factors in attracting more people to Kingston. And once they got here, they realized this was a wonderful place.

Tourism numbers were up at the two Kingston visitor centers from May through October compared to the same period in 2008, according to Katie Cook, director of heritage tourism for the City of Kingston. The Uptown and Downtown Visitors Centers were collectively visited by at least 4,544 people—several hundred additional visitors did not sign the guestbook, estimated Cook—compared with approximately 3,000 the year before. Cook attributed the high visitor numbers to three major events (not all of which were held in 2008)—the reenactment of the Burning of Kingston by British troops during the Revolutionary War, the Kingston Biennial Sculpture show, and the Hudson Quadricentennial Celebration.

The Downtown Visitors Center attracted 3,266 visitors, compared with 1,269 visitors at the Uptown Center. Of the 4,544 total, 411 were foreigners. More visitors arrived from the state of New York—a total of 2,145—than anywhere else, followed by New Jersey (290), Pennsylvania (214), Florida (151), Massachusetts (142), Connecticut (137), and California (123). Visitors representing 40 countries came to Kingston, of which more came from the Netherlands (85) than anywhere else—no doubt in response to the Quadicentennial, which highlighted the region’s Dutch roots and featured several Dutch-related events, including an artists’ exchange between Ulster County and the Netherlands.    Sixty-four visitors came from Canada, 61 from Germany, 55 from the United Kingdom and 21 from Australia.

Debra Harris, director of sales at the Holiday Inn in Kingston, said that several guests from the Netherlands stayed at the hotel this summer and fall, which she attributed to the promotion for the Quad Celebration. The crew of one of the flat-bottomed sailing boats in the Dutch fleet sailing from New York Harbor to Albany in mid September was among the hotel’s guests. “They enjoyed the hotel so much that they drove back here for another comfortable night after sailing up to Catskill,” she said. Overall, “we had no great numbers to boast about, but with the current economy, we were happy to have any new business.”

The Hudson River Maritime Museum reported a general attendance of more than 25,000 people, representing 36 states and 10 foreign countries. More than 650 participated in scheduled group tours, and more than 35 cruise ships and other vessels tied up at the museum’s dock. The arrival of the flotilla of historic ships, including a replica of Henry Hudson’s Half Moon, on June 10 was a huge success, drawing between 3,000 and 4,000 people, with 300 students and teachers visiting the ships the next day.

Friends of Historic Kingston had at least 3,500 visitors for the 2009 tourist season, according to executive director Jane Kellar. They took the Stockade and Rondout District walking tours, toured the Fred Johnston House or the Persen House, as well as visited the art exhibit, “Hudson Fulton Take Two.” There was “a huge positive response” to the gallery exhibition, Kellar said; sample comments were “makes history fun” and ”great collaboration between now and then.” She said that volunteers had donated more than 1,500 hours during the season to keep things open and running.

The Person House tours, which were held on Saturdays from May 23 through October 31—signs at the Uptown Farmers’ Market directed people to the museum, which was a primary factor in bringing in visitors—were attended by at least 750 people, including visitors from the U.K., Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, and Taiwan as well as many people stateside. The historic house also sponsored three free lectures, which were well attended. Twenty local volunteers served as tour guides on at least one Saturday, who were procured through the persistent efforts of Lowell Thing.

For restaurateurs, the season was mixed. Frank Guido, who with his son and cousin owns Mariner’s Harbor and Frank Guido’s Little Italy, said keeping his prices low and concentrating on service was partly why “the economic hasn’t affected our business.” There was a fall-off in boat traffic in the Rondout, perhaps due to the rainy weekends. The Friday night bands in the patio of Mariner’s Harbor made up for the lack of free concerts on the waterfront by the city, and Guido said the busloads of people going on the Rip Van Winkle tour boat and the festivals that were held on the Rondout helped his business. “We haven’t raised our prices in two years and concentrate on service,” he said.

In Midtown, Frank Guido’s Little Italy benefited from UPAC. The theater’s top acts have brought many outsiders into the city; one was the president of Vassar College, who made a return trip to his restaurant, Guido said. He said one disappointment was the lack of development on the waterfront. “Look at what Newburgh and Poughkeepsie are doing,” he said. “Kingston has the plans, but the private developers have stalled. I’d love to see some activity.”