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2014 A Record Year For Tourism In Monroe County.

Local officials announced Tuesday that the tourism industry generated over $1 billion dollars in economic impact to Monroe County in 2014.

Specifically, $1,001,985.

The figures come from the annual report by the New York State Department of Economic Development. The 2014 report is compiled by Oxford Economics, which represents all the New York State tourism partners.

County Executive Maggie Brooks says one big benefit is that tourism dollars help keep property taxes flat.

"When you look at the number of people coming to this community, the amount of money they are spending, that really offsets our need to increase property taxes in Monroe County to support the services we provide as a government."

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren says $1 billion dollars in economic impact is a major milestone for this region, and a testament to the fact that our investments are working. 

She says it's also a testament to the partnerships built between local governments, groups like Visit Rochester, and area employers.

Visit Rochester president and CEO Don Jeffries says they estimate over 2-million visitors come here each year.

"The future of tourism here is bright, with the great product our community has to offer.

And Rochester now is a billion dollar destination."

Here's County Executive Brooks and Mayor Warren talking about tourism in the region: