SYRACUSE -- A new report released by the Siena Research Institute says consumer confidence in Central New York is higher than it's been in a decade.
Rob Simpson, the President of CenterState CEO, says Central New York had the highest consumer confidence of any other region in the state of New York.
"I can't remember a time when our region was leading the way in that kind of economic confidence," says Simpson.
Simpson says part of that is thanks to the re-branding of Destiny USA with 50 new businesses and 1,100 new employees, which has led to international attention.
"They're attracting visitors from all over the northeast and most importantly Canada. I think 12-15% of their visitors are coming across the border from Canada to here in Central New York," says Simpson.
Despite the good news, in CenterState CEO's Economic Forecast 2013 report released Thursday morning, Central New York businesses are still only cautiously optimistic about the new year.
"With an unemployment rate still over 8% in central new york we still have a lot of work to do. Whether consumers are feeling confident or not there is still a lot of opportunity for this economy to grow," says Simpson.
But with lots of changes in store and with the growing confidence of consumers, there is no doubt about the endless potential for growth in Central New York.
"Rebuilding our downtown, investing in our city, growing the regional economy I think that's what 2013 holds for Central New York," says Simpson.
According the SRI report, future confidence in Syracuse is up 10.5 points compared to 8.0 points in Utica, and 5.3 points in Binghamton. New York City had one of the lowest future confidence ratings, with a small rise of 2.4 points.
