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May 26, 2026

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Nominations Close This Sunday!

FINAL DEADLINE: This Sunday, May 31, 2026

Don't miss out, don't wait to nominate! You only have until midnight this Sunday, May 31 to nominate a deserving NYS tourism professional, organization, or solutions provider. There will be no more deadline extensions.


The Awards are open to the entire tourism industry of New York State!


  • Anyone can nominate! Open to the enture industry, you need not be a member of NYSTIA to nominate or be nominated. Awards FAQ
  • Prep your nomination with our easy-to-use downloadable pdf prep documents to make your nomination process quick and easy.
  • More diverse categories than ever before are now available for you to share the incredible work done by your team, from marketing to advocacy, leadership to destination development, and more! All Categories

In This Newsletter:

Issue Feature:

- Awards Nomination Deadline Closes This Sunday, May 31

- All Award Categories


Advocacy:

- Support NYC Tourism + Conventions

- Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling


Industry News:

- NYSTIA Partner Feature

- Visit Schoharie County Becomes Upstate Vacations

- Albany Convention Center Issues RFP

- Visit Finger Lakes Celebrates Heritage, Music, America 250


Events:

- Technology Trends

- Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling


Featured Co-Ops:

- ROVA: The Magazine for Epic Road Trips

- AARP October 2026 NYS Travel Feature

2026 New York State Tourism Excellence Awards Categories:

More About Each Category


Excellence in Leadership: Career Achievement

Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs

  • Creative for Tourism Marketing
  • Digital Marketing
  • Great Outdoors of New York State
  • Innovations & Strategies to Address New/Unique/Changing Markets
  • International Tourism Marketing
  • Overall Tourism Marketing
  • Printed Materials
  • Public Relations Campaign
  • Trails & Itineraries
  • Using Data to Drive Success

Excellence in Transformational Tourism Stewardship

  • Destination Development & Community Engagement
  • Sustainable Stewardship
  • Tourism Equity & Inclusion
  • Tourism Advocacy
  • Workforce Development

Excellence in Young Professional Leadership

The New Yorker AwardPlatinum Standard Award

⚖️ Advocacy Matters to You

Support NYC Tourism + Conventions' Request to Increase Funding

Sign Their Member Letter

NYC Tourism + Conventions is requesting $35M dollars from the City in 2027 to expand their marketing efforts. Please help appeal to City leadership to endorse this initiative by signing on to the NYC Tourism + Conventions’ member letter to the New York City Council and City Hall.

Sign their Letter

Join the Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling Session

Monday, June 8 | 10:00 AM | Webinar | Free to Register

Hear how colleagues are navigating advocacy challenges like budget attacks, legislative outreach, and other advocacy efforts at the NYSTIA Advocacy Committee Open Floor Session. You're invited to join us and share challenges you're facing, exchange ideas, and provide feedback on the Tourism: It's Everybody's Business materials. Register Now

📣 Be a Tourism Advocate! Sign up to the NYSTIA Advocacy Action Center to receive alerts in our future advocacy efforts.

Industry News:

NYSTIA Partner Feature: Nick Beaulieu from Sojern

Nick Beaulieu is a Sales Director at Sojern, the leading AI-powered marketing platform built for hospitality, designed to boost growth and profitability for the travel industry. The Sojern marketing platform is a set of easy-to-use software and services that delivers unrivaled traveler..


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‘Visit Schoharie County’ Becomes Upstate Vacations

Visit Schoharie County is officially becoming ‘Upstate Vacations’ - a new brand identity, a redesigned inspiration guide, and a fresh way of telling the stories that have always made this corner of New York worth the drive. Most of the people who find their way to Schoharie County...


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Albany Convention Center Authority Issues RFP for Strategic Marketing & Communications Advisor

The Albany Convention Center Authority (ACCA) announced today that it is seeking proposals from qualified strategic marketing and communications firms to develop and implement a comprehensive brand strategy. This initiative comes as the Authority embarks on $55 million..


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Summer 2026 in the Finger Lakes Celebrates Heritage, Cultural, Music, Culinary & America 250 Celebrations

As communities across the country commemorate America’s 250th anniversary and summer travel trends indicate an increase in shorter stays and national travel this 2026, Visit Finger Lakes is highlighting a summer lineup of events that showcase Ontario County's role in...


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Events & Webinars:

Technology Trends, Powered by the State of the American Traveler

Webinar | Future Partners | June 2

Learn More

Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling - June Session

Online | NYSTIA Advocacy Committee | June 8

Learn More & Register

Marketing Opportunities:

ROVA: The Magazine for Epic Road Trips

Sign up for the August/September Co-Op section, featuring the section theme:


  • 6th Annual Brewery, Cidery and Distillery Destinations
  • Fishing Destinations


All participants receive multimedia exposure on rovamag.com with a 728x90 ad banner and those with and those with a ¼ page or larger can submit a blog to match section themes!


Learn More & Sign Up by June 8, 2026

AARP 2026 October New York State Travel Feature

Audience segmentation, lead generation, and content marketing.


The NYSTIA October 2026 AARP Co-Op feature will appear in the AARP New England Region (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT) to target fall and winter travel intenders. By participating, you'll receive matching space for advertorial content, doubling your destination visibility, increasing your visual impact and branding opportunity. 


Learn More & Sign Up by July 3

Job Postings

No new jobs have been posted this week, but you can view the open listing anytime on our website. Open Job Listings

Become a Member | Join the Partnership Community

Volunteer at a Travel Show | Be a Tourism Champion | Take Off, New York!

Donate to the Scholarship Auction

Thank you to our Partnership Community!

WHAT WE DO:

We assist our members in advancing responsible, sustainable economic growth, local job creation, small business success and increased vitality in our destination communities by realizing the potential of New York State's tourism industry.

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