2026 NYSTIA Tourism Champions Community

Look What We're Planning for 2026!

Thank you to all of our new and returning Tourism Champions for 2026! Your support has enabled us to invest in a robust schedule of major travel shows, events and static displays for 2026: 

  1. We promised 18 travel shows and we delivered (more!). We'll be in Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, New York City, Toronto, Quebec, and Washington, DC...  and more!
  2. We will again have a Thruway presence in the Visitor Center at the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park eastbound exit.
  3. We return to the New York State Fair August 26 to September 7, 2026! 
  4. We will report to you after each show in the weekly NYSTIA newsletter. 

THERE'S STILL TIME TO SIGN UP: The investment ($3,750, no price increase for 2026!) saves you well over $2,000 off the a la carte cost of the scheduled 2026 travel show events, or less than $210 per event! Below is our current 2026 schedule. More dates may be added throughout the year.

2026 Travel Show Schedule* as of January 8, 2026:

  1. January 17-18; Washington D.C. Travel & Adventure Show; Walter E. Washington Convention Center; Washington, D.C. (2-Day Show)
  2. January 23-25; Pittsburgh Travel Showcase; David L. Lawrence Convention Center; Pittsburgh, PA (3-Day Show)
  3. January 24-25, New York City Travel & Adventure Show, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY (2-Day Show)
  4. January 31, AAA Northeast Travel Marketplace, Gillette Stadium (Boston Area) (1-Day Show)
  5. February 21-22; Chicago Travel Adventure Show; Donald E. Stephens Convention Center; Chicago, IL (2-Day Show)
  6. February 20-22, Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show; The International Centre; Toronto, Ontario, Canada (3-Day Show)
  7. February 22; Lehigh Valley Vacation Expo; Wind Creek Casino; Allentown, PA (1-Day Show)
  8. March 14-15; Upstate Sports Summer Expo; Saratoga City Center; Saratoga Springs, NY (2-Day Show)
  9. March 28-29; Montreal Outdoor Adventure Show; Palais des congrès de Montréal; Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2-Day Show)
  10. April 12; Dream Destinations Spring Travel Show; MGM Grand; Springfield, MA (1-Day Show)
  11. April 25-26; Ottawa Outdoor + Adventure Show; Nepean Sportsplex; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (2-Day Show)
  12. May 1 - October 31; Visitor Center, Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park; New York State Thruway (6 month display)
  13. August 26 - September 7th; New York State Fair; New York State Fairgrounds; Syracuse, NY (13-Day Show)
  14. September; Association of  Canadian Travel Agencies Toronto Summit; Toronto Congress Centre; Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1-Day Show)
  15. September; Association of  Canadian Travel Agencies Quebec Summit; Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1-Day Show)
  16. October 18; Dream Destinations Fall Travel Show, MGM Grand, Springfield, MA (1-Day Show)
  17. October 24-25; Upstate Sports Winter Expo; Saratoga City Center; Saratoga Springs, NY (2-Day Show)
  18. October 30 - November 1; International Tourism & Travel Expo; Palais des congrès de Montréal; Montréal, Québec, Canada (3-Day Show)

*Additional events will be added as opportunities arise throughout the year. 

Interested in joining us in the booth at our travel shows?

Fill out our 2026 Travel Show Volunteer Interest Form. We will have a volunteer form for the 2026 New York State Fair closer to the fair.

2026 Tourism Champions will also receive one complimentary event registration for both the 2026 New York State Tourism Conference and the 2026 New York State Tourism Excellence Summit & Awards.

At present, the 2026 Tourism Champions agreement is available to destination-specific travel guides (e.g. County TPAs, DMOs, attractions, hotels). Brokered content/media publications, regional publications featuring multiple destinations, should contact Nate Gresock, nate@nystia.org, to discuss their needs.

Please take a look at the 2026 Tourism Champions agreement/sign-up form linked below.

2026 NYSTIA TOURISM CHAMPIONS EXHIBITOR AGREEMENT
I. Your travel guide distributed at a minimum of 18 international and domestic travel shows and events in 2026, including the New York State Fair! (a la carte value for the 18 events is $6,000, you save over $2,000)
Organization contact authorizing this agreement:
Organization's Content Liaison, if different from the person listed above
PLEASE INDICATE: Will you use NYS sourced funding (e.g. Tourism Matching Funds, NYS Grants, etc) to pay for this initiative? Please indicate YES or NO (needed for MNY grant accounting purposes) *
Please Use The Submit Button Below When Finished

Nate Gresock
Consumer Programs Coordinator
New York State Tourism Industry Association
nate@nystia.org