The Hudson River Valley is widely acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful and culturally significant landscapes in America. The region is rich in a broad range of cultural, ecologic, and scenic resources, including historic river towns, museums, gardens, historic houses, wildlife refuges, boutiques, and restaurants. Yet tourists are failing to take advantage of these many offerings. A comparison of tourism spending between the New York City tourist and the Hudson River Valley tourist shows that significant numbers of affluent tourists alight in NYC with the stated desire to visit scenic, cultural, and historic sites and to shop and explore small town life – all of which are abundant in the Hudson River Valley, an untapped economic resource. If just half of the visitors from abroad who expressed a desire to visit small town America were to do so in the Hudson River Valley, and if 1 out of 10 of our domestic visitors could be convinced to explore the beauties of the valley, the economic impact could exceed $283 million per annum.

Given the relative paucity of tourist spending in the valley at present it is heartening to note that a number of commercial tour boat operators have carved profitable niches in the region centered in Haverstraw, Kingston, and Albany. However, the greatest niche in the region, the one linking NYC to the Hudson River Valley, is yet to be filled. From 1807 until 1987 many services offered a waterborne link between NYC and the communities of the Hudson River Valley. Recreational travel on the Hudson thrived despite the advent of the faster and less expensive alternative of the railroad. However, following the arrival of the auto age, river traffic declined. Our goal is to provide a spectacular vessel for tourists to visit the scenic, cultural, and historic sites of their choice while enjoying all the comforts of water travel. With sweeping views of the Hudson River, shipboard exhibits and art installations, and numerous stops at historic Hudson River towns, what better way to explore the valley than in the SS Columbia?

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