It appears the effort to promote Destiny USA to domestic and especially international audiences is paying off. The shopping, dining, and entertainment venue ended last year with impressive gains in group travel visitation.
We’ve known for years now that Destiny is a big draw for Canadian visitors. But what about travelers from Australia, China, and Egypt? Or, Brazil, Poland, and Spain? Visitors from 30 countries accounted for an eight percent increase in motorcoach arrivals over 2017, and a nine percent jump in ridership. Visit Syracuse President Danny Liedka says Destiny has done a great job marketing itself and the region to coach operators who might otherwise just drive through Syracuse.
“They are coming here for Destiny. Destiny helps us push them out to other venues and vice versa, so it’s nice to have them in a central location."
Liedka says it also helps that visitors can stay longer if they choose, which generates more revenue.
“People that are diving in from over an hour away, now they got an opportunity to spend the night basically attached to this great entertainment complex. That hotel definitely drives new business here which we definitely need, because overall if you take a five year or six year snapshot of area the market has been relatively flat. So that hotel has helped those numbers grow."
Liedka says Destiny is not only a draw for leisure travelers, but also meeting planners.
“We have seen a revival, and it continues in future years, for new conventions coming into Syracuse, and without Destiny I’m not sure we would be able to capture a lot of that business. They expect world class shopping, world class restaurants, we have a lot of that downtown and other parts of the county, but Destiny has that all in one place so that is a tremendous asset.”
He says all of this has made Destiny a top generator of sales tax revenue in the county, which accounts for 20 percent of the overall budget. He feels the mall has fulfilled its promise…and then some, after controversial incentives from the city and county facilitated the expansion several years ago.
“People get caught up on the tax breaks and the PILOTS and things of that nature, and when they don’t work out people get angry. But in this case, where would we be without the sales tax that has generated by Destiny? I think our taxes would be a heck of a lot higher.”
