Mr. McGowan is a native of Hawaii, and prior to coming to Long Island he was head of a similar agency in South Carolina, where he was reputed to having boosted tourism in that state. His enthusiasm for Long Island is genuine, and he remarked to us that Long Island is a varied and interesting “product.” I never thought of the island as a product, but if that’s what you’re selling, I guess the word is appropriate. He made a big thing out of the various aspects of Long Island including the less traveled places for Long Islanders such as Fire Island, and places of the North Fork.

The revenues from tourism and hospitality in the bi-county region is $3 1/2 billion dollars. Sales taxes from this source for both counties is $70 million. Not a small industry to be sure. Mr. Mcgowan went on to explain some of the methods of selling Long Island to other areas as a desirable destination. One of the more important connections to the world is the use of the Internet. By the use of a well designed website, the islands attractions are brought to other people in a very cost effective way. The speaker reinforced what most of us already acknowledged – Long Island does have a lot to offer.

Next week there will be no meeting. Our next meeting will be Oct7th. Have a nice weekend.
Ernie Fazio