May 19, 2026

Coming Up: Important Dates You

Don't Want To Miss

Be sure to mark you calendars, add reminders, and get ready for two important dates coming up in the next few weeks:

🏆 May 31 — Tourism Excellence Awards Nominations Deadline

There are only two weeks left to submit nominations for the 2026 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards! With more variety in categories than ever, recognize outstanding marketing campaigns, destination development, tourism advocacy, stewardship initiatives, and industry leaders across New York State. Best of all, you do not need to be a NYSTIA member to nominate or be nominated. Browse categories, review example submissions, download the prep document, and submit your nomination by May 31. Nominate Now

🗣️ June 8 – Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling Session

Join NYSTIA’s Advocacy Committee for the next quarterly open floor session, where you're invited to share challenges that you're facing, exchange ideas, and hear how colleagues are navigating budget attacks, legislative outreach, and local advocacy efforts. Kicking off this session will be a moment to gather further feedback on the Tourism: It's Everybody's Business materials to strengthen advocacy resources for 2026. Register Now

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In This Newsletter:

Issue Feature:

- Mark Your Calendars: Awards Nomination Deadline and Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling Session

Advocacy:

- Tour Cayuga to Host Where Tourism Meets Community Summit

- Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling

Industry News:

- Mel Brooks Career Archives at National Comedy Center

- Executive Update from Brand USA

- 200 Mile Extension to Empire State Trail

- Destination Sales & Marketing Consultant RFP for Jamestown

Events:

- Technology Trends

- Advocacy Through Industry Storytelling

Featured Co-Ops:

- ROVA: The Magazine for Epic Road Trips

- AARP October 2026 NYS Travel Feature

⚖️ Advocacy Matters to You

All Advocacy

Tour Cayuga to Host "Where Tourism Meets Community Summit" on June 17, 2026

Marking its 31st anniversary, Tour Cayuga will host its second annual Where Tourism Meets Community luncheon on Wednesday, June 17. Featured speaker Bob Provost, President and CEO of the New York...

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

Industry News:

All News

Mel Brooks Places Career Archives at National Comedy Center

Mel Brooks and the National Comedy Center, the United States’ museum and national archive dedicated to the art form of comedy, announced today that the Center will become the home of Brooks’...

Executive Update from Fred Dixon, President & CEO of Brand USA

As Brand USA prepares to kick off IPW, President & CEO Fred Dixon shares major updates to the America the Beautiful platform, including new initiatives focused on boosting traveler confidence, strengthening...

Continue Reading on the Brand USA Newsletter

200 Mile Extension Added to Empire State Trail

Soon the 75-mile Empire State Trail will extend all the way to Montauk when it connects to the Long Island Greenway, a 200-mile trail that will eventually bridge the island and Manhattan. The greenway will be...

Continue Reading on Travelandleusire.com

Destination Sales and Marketing Consultant RFP for Jamestown, NY

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC) invites proposals for a Destination Sales and Marketing Consultant – Meetings & Events to establish and promote Jamestown, NY as a destination for boutique...

View the RFP

Events & Webinars:

All Events

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:

All Co-Ops

ROVA: The Magazine for Epic Road Trips

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

All Jobs

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

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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.