Governor Andrew Cuomo was in Geneva Wednesday to help debut the new Finger Lakes Welcome Center.
New York Kitchen, formerly the New York Wine and Culinary Center, will operate the Welcome Center.
Cuomo said it’s a perfect addition to the revitalization of Geneva. The center will provide tourists with information about local activities, sites and products.
One of 11 new welcome centers around the state, the Finger Lakes location is the first to sell New York-made wine, cider and beer.
He says tourism drives the Finger Lakes economy and that people want to go places with a number of attractions, something that the lakes have to offer.
"I can’t tell you how many people say I didn’t know, I went I saw I didn’t know it’s so beautiful. The trick is just exposure."
Cuomo says that tourism in the Finger Lakes is now a $1.7 billion industry, with 14 million visitors a year.
"The best sales device we have is the Finger Lakes themselves. There is no body who comes that is not just blown away by the experience."
Cuomo says the trick to getting people up here is that initial exposure to the lakes.
WEOS-Finger Lakes Public Radio and the Associated Press contributed to this story.