Of the few economic reports made public that I have seen, some either ignore tourism altogether, or consider tourism a factor, but not necessarily a major one. I would like to change that. Having been a resident of Long Island on and off again for the past 50 years, I have been a witness to the spectacular growth of a region whose center of being was New York City, but now is trying to find its way back to itself. More people live, work, and think Long Island than ever before. But Long Island lacks one key ingredient for making this a comfortable transition.
Problem is that nothing here is fundamentally new or tourist oriented.
More importantly, it lacks an identity. This situation is one shared by many communities around the country that began life as a satellite, only to find itself as large or larger than the community to which it was originally attached. In the case of Long Island, a center was never considered until of late. The island remains little more than a network of villages, all linked together to form the whole. While some villages are larger than others, none have the attractions or the personality, to be viewed as the center of the whole, let alone qualify as a major tourist center.