Jul 30, 2026
2026 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards Honoree: Public Relations Campaign
Stories That Drive Travel: Elevating Saratoga County Through Strategic Media Relations
Join us Thursday morning in Corning at the 2026 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Colleen Senglaub, Digital Account Manager at Travel Alliance Partnership, will be joined by MacKenzie Zarzycki, Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Discover Saratoga, will take attendees behind the scenes of Discover Saratoga's award-winning public relations campaign to learn how experiential storytelling can transform destination marketing. Discover how strategically designed media experiences, rather than traditional press trips, generated impactful earned media, elevated overlooked attractions, and drove shoulder-season travel.
Why You Should Attend This Session:
- Learn how to move beyond traditional media pitching by designing immersive, theme-based experiences that generate authentic travel stories.
- Discover how to align hosted media visits with strategic tourism goals, including driving shoulder-season visitation and expanding destination awareness.
- Take away practical ideas for creating editorial experiences that increase partner visibility, showcase overlooked attractions, and produce measurable earned media results.
Key Takeaways:
- Develop an experiential storytelling strategy that turns hosted media visits into compelling editorial opportunities aligned with your destination's goals.
- Build a PR campaign that supports business objectives, from increasing shoulder-season visitation to elevating underrepresented attractions and tourism partners.
- Apply practical tools and best practices for planning media experiences, identifying story angles, and measuring the impact of earned media beyond impressions.
About Colleen:
Colleen Senglaub is the Digital Account Manager at Travel Alliance Partnership (TAP), where she develops integrated marketing strategies for clients in the travel and tourism industries. Colleen specializes in digital marketing, earned media, and emerging AI applications, helping tourism organizations turn strategic goals into measurable results. A Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate and leader of TAP's AI Committee, Colleen is passionate about combining data-driven insights with creative storytelling to help destinations tell the stories that inspire travel and create meaningful economic impact.
About MacKenzie:
MacKenzie Zarzycki is the Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Discover Saratoga, where she leads destination marketing initiatives that inspire travel and strengthen the local visitor economy. Passionate about creative storytelling and data-driven strategy, she has helped expand Discover Saratoga's digital presence through innovative campaigns, owned media, and strategic partnerships. She also serves as the Host & Executive Producer of the Destination Saratoga: All Access podcast, where she showcases the people, places, and stories that make Saratoga County a premier year-round destination.
About Travel Alliance Partnership:
At Travel Alliance Partnership, we serve at all levels of our industry - individuals, teams, businesses, associations, and regions. We offer strategic marketing services, membership programs, industry events, education, and learning resources. We champion tourism and support economic growth because we know that tourism is critical to economic development and makes or breaks regions.
About Discover Saratoga:
Discover Saratoga is the official tourism promotion agency for Saratoga County, New York. The organization markets the destination to leisure travelers, meeting planners, sporting event organizers, and group tour operators while supporting the county's vibrant tourism industry. Through strategic marketing, public relations, sales, and visitor services, Discover Saratoga works to drive overnight visitation, strengthen the local economy, and showcase the county's world-class attractions, outdoor recreation, arts and culture, horse racing, dining, and year-round events.