Nancy Kern reports for Columbia-Greene Media that Greene County Tourism Director Patty Austin says tourism spending is up 44.2 percent in 2021. And compared to 2019, it was up 122.6 percent. Austin said, “After COVID, we found that everybody just wanted wide-open spaces.... Because of COVID, the family institution is going strong again. People learned to live with each other, to get along with each other and appreciate their families. Also our hipsters want that experiential stay. They’re looking for glamping.” Mountainkeeper Program Director Katherine Nadeau said the number of Catskill Park visitors more than doubled from 2018 to 2021. Austin said Greene County is no longer marketing itself as Greene County, but as “The Catskills" in a new travel guide. Austin also said, “Cairo is coming back. East Durham is thriving. Resorts are booming.... On Main Street in Catskill, four new businesses have just opened. The Department will also run video campaigns on social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram. The marketing plan will be called, 'It happens here.'" Read more about this story at HudsonValley360.com.