The Mid-Hudson News Network reports in The Daily Freeman that tourists are spending more money in Dutchess County, with visitor spending up 25 percent over the last five years, according to Mary Kay Vrba, president of Dutchess Tourism Inc. Vrba spoke to nearly 300 people at the monthly Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Poughkeepsie Aug. 15. Dutchess County tourism brought in $601.5 million last year, an increase of 5.9 percent over 2016. Tourism is the fourth-largest industry in the state and in Dutchess County 11,239 people work in the sector. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.