2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards Recipients Announced

TROY, NY – The New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) today announced the recipients of the 2025 New York State Tourism Excellence. Each year, this program honors exceptional achievements by New York’s destination marketing organizations, attractions, and tourism professionals across a wide range of categories, including marketing, destination stewardship, and leadership. Honorees will be celebrated at a special ceremony and reception, hosted by Advance Media New York, on Thursday, September 11, 2025, in Lake George, New York.

“The New York State Tourism Excellence Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of those who help shape and elevate New York State as a world-class travel destination,” remarked Greg LaDuca, Board Chair of the New York State Tourism Industry Association. “These professionals and organizations play a vital role in strengthening our state’s economy and enhancing the visitor experience. We applaud this year’s honorees for their innovation, dedication, and impact.”

Open to all tourism professionals and organizations throughout the state, the New York State Tourism Excellence Awards are determined through a competitive evaluation process led by a panel of impartial industry experts. The 2025 awards cycle saw continued growth in the number of nominations submitted. With entries representing every region of New York State, judges faced the challenging task of evaluating a diverse slate of highly qualified submissions.

“Once again, both the quality and the quantity of the campaigns, initiatives, and projects nominated for the 2025 New York State Tourism Excellence Awards surpassed expectations,” observed Bob Provost, President of the New York State Tourism Industry Association. “The world-class work being done by New York's tourism professionals contributes significantly to the trajectory of growth in New York's visitor economy and deserves to be recognized.”

“NYSTIA is privileged to administer the awards program and ceremony,” stated Rachele Markle, NYSTIA staff liaison to the NYS Tourism Excellence Awards Committee. “The continued success of this awards program is a testament to the individuals and organizations who submitted nominations, the experienced judges who carefully reviewed each entry, and—most importantly—the remarkable efforts of tourism professionals working to enhance and promote New York as a premier travel destination. We owe a huge thank you to the volunteers who served on the Tourism Excellence Awards Committee and panel of judges: Josiah Brown, Bridget Cerrone, Todd Garofano, Nigar Hale, Cassandra Harrington, Samantha Hayes, Danae Jones-Persip, Dana Krueger, Greg LaDuca, Dwayne Thomas, Elena Oyer, Stacey Toussaint, and the Committee Co-Chairs, Sarah Foster Calero and Haley Coriaty.”

Award recipients are recognized in the following format:

Nominee/Campaign Name
Organization Name
Award Category: Subcategory
- *Organization’s Total Annual Tourism Operating Budget (if applicable)

*To ensure fair competition among organizations of similar budgets, nominators are asked to include the nominated organization’s total annual tourism operating budget (under or over $500,000). In the case(s) where a category receives nominations in both budget ranges, two awards—one in each budget range—are awarded.

Honorees are listed alphabetically by category:
 

Karen Kühl
Cayuga County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Excellence in Leadership: Career/Lifetime Achievement

Delaware County “Map Your Moments” 2024 Annual Marketing Campaign
Advance Media New York on behalf of Delaware County Great Western Catskills
Excellence in Overall Tourism Marketing: TPA/County/DMO Local Level
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Discover Long Island
Discover Long Island
Excellence in Overall Tourism Marketing: TPA/County/DMO Local Level
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more
 

Accessible Travel: Disability Pride, Disability Joy, Exists
Accessible Travel NYC
Excellence in Tourism Equity & Inclusion
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Inclusive Campaign
Focus Media on behalf of Orange County Tourism
Excellence in Tourism Equity & Inclusion
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Supplemental Tourism Information Brochures
Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Creative Use of
Data to Drive Success
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Data Driven Large Scale Event Management
Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST)
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Creative Use of
Data to Drive Success
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Weekend Wonders
BBG&G Integrated Marketing on behalf of St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Digital Marketing
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Four Season Campaign
Focus Media on behalf of Orange County Tourism
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Digital Marketing
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

We’ll See You Out There
New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: The Great Outdoors of New York State

Washington County Tourism “How It’s Made” Series
Black Dog Designs on behalf of Washington County Tourism
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Innovations & Strategies to Address New/Unique/Changing Markets
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Commander in Cheers
Destination Dutchess
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Innovations & Strategies to Address New/Unique/Changing Markets
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

2024/2025 New York By Rail 20^th Anniversary Issue
Content Studio New York
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Printed Materials
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

2024 Discover Dutchess Destination Guide
Destination Dutchess
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Printed Materials
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Pouring New Life into Westchester
From Mower on behalf of Westchester County Tourism & Film
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Public Relations
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Path of Totality Awesome
Visit Rochester
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Public Relations
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

LivCo Libation Loop
Livingston County Tourism
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Trails & Itineraries
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Cortland County Ice Cream Trail
Cortland County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Trails & Itineraries
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

More to Explore
New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Visitor Service
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

Visit Ithaca Visitor Experience Program
Visit Ithaca
Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Visitor Service
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Empire State Trail Town Program
Parks & Trails New York
Excellence in Tourism Stewardship: Shaping a Better Future
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000
 

The Angel Nyack
The Angel Nyack
Excellence in Tourism Stewardship: Shaping a Better Future
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Discover Cayuga Lake
Discover Cayuga Lake
Excellence in Sustainable Tourism: Champions of Change
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget under $500,000

The 2024 Solar Eclipse
The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST)
Excellence in Sustainable Tourism: Champions of Change
- Annual Tourism Operating Budget $500,000 or more

Megan Arnone Eckwahl
The National Comedy Center
Excellence in Young Professional Leadership

Robert “Bob” Stopper
Wayne County Tourism
The New Yorker Award

About New York State Tourism Industry Association:

The New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) is a member-driven, 501(c)6 nonprofit organization at the vanguard of transformational tourism marketing, stewardship and long-term strategic planning. We assist our members in advancing responsible economic growth, creating jobs, revitalizing communities, supporting small business success, and increasing state and local tax revenues in order to improve the standard of living, quality of life and pride of place for New York State communities and residents. We achieve these goals by facilitating the success of our members in realizing the economic potential of New York State's tourism industry as a catalyst for collaborative initiatives, exceptional marketing programs, industry research and legislative awareness for the private sector of New York State's tourism industry. www.nystia.org

About Advance Media NY

Advance Media NY is a full-service marketing and advertising agency based in Syracuse. As a division of Advance Local, headquartered in Manhattan, our agency is fueled by a diverse team of wildly talented individuals. From artists to digital experts, we draw from a deep bench of highly qualified professionals within our agency and across our entire company. We don’t just create campaigns; we craft award-winning experiences. Our track record speaks for itself, with accolades and recognition for our innovative work in marketing and advertising.  We’re deeply involved in branding, economic development, and other state-wide projects. Our versatility allows us to adapt and excel across diverse sectors. From captivating visuals to compelling copy, our creative services team brings ideas to life. Whether it’s a brand refresh, a digital campaign, high-quality video, or a multimedia project, we infuse creativity into every aspect of our work and have the hardware to prove it with over 90 state, national and international top awards. www.advancemediany.com