Apr 27, 2026
Convening the Industry!
Last week, we had the pleasure to welcome more than 300 tourism professionals to Utica for the 2026 New York State Tourism Conference. This year marked a new attendance benchmark. We had to close registration due to capacity (for the first time ever) a full week before the conference. The result: a full house, record attendance, and an energy that carried through every session, conversation, and event.
To everyone who joined us in Utica, thank you! Your engagement, ideas, and enthusiasm are what make this conference so valuable year after year. We hope you brought home fresh ideas, new connections, and renewed momentum for the year ahead!
Behind the scenes, this conference was powered by dedicated committee members, partners, presenters and volunteers. Thank you to the event committee, host DMO and venues, and everyone who contributed to making the experience seamless and collaborative.
Thank you to Event Co-Chair Cass Martin Majestic for opening the conference with thought provoking, poignant and inspirational remarks.
We’re especially grateful to our host DMO Oneida County Tourism (huge thank you to Sarah Foster Calero (Event Co-Chair), Madison Cermak, and team!) for creating a welcoming and memorable experience, from thoughtfully curated Immersion Experiences to the fantastic reception at the DoubleTree by Hilton Utica, to organizing local goodies for attendees to enjoy at registration.
Thank you to the entire team at our host venue Delta Hotels by Marriott Utica (shout out to Lee Arthur, Sabrina Vedder, Sara Cloe and 'K'!) for providing a wonderful, welcoming conference location.
We’re also grateful to Ross D. Levi of I LOVE NY/ESD for his gracious welcome remarks and introductions. Ross again teamed with Rich Gagliano to deliver the I LOVE NY update, an annual highlight of the New York State Tourism Conference. Huge thank you to David Contreras Turley for his continued partnership and support, and to the entire team from I LOVE NY/ESD.
Our partners play a vital role in making this event possible. Thank you to our presenting partners: Rove, Canal Corporation/NYPA, Advance Travel & Tourism, and Miles Partnership, for your continued investment in NYSTIA’s work, and to Skål International Albany/Upstate for hosting the Wednesday welcome reception.
This year’s program featured a wide range of perspectives and insights from across the industry. We appreciate all of our speakers who shared their expertise, including Ben Walsh from the NYS Canal Corporation and Sarah Just from the Oneida Nation's Evolution Project. A special thank you to Angie Briggs of Brand USA for her in-depth Keynote session, and to her colleague Chelsea Sullivan Kaiser for organizing an engaging panel session on international tourism marketing. And that was just part of the Wednesday agenda! (See complete daily agendas with these links: Wed. April 22 - Thurs. April 23 - Fri. April 24)
Wednesday evening's successful Destinations of New York State Scholarship Auction wouldn't have been possible without the tireless work of our Committee Co-Chairs James Sauter from Rove and Jennifer Ackerson of Alon Tourism Solutions (and Jen's hardworking duo Dustin Conlon and Connor De Vos). Another huge thank you to Kelly Rapone from the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce, and the Scholarship Auction Committee members. With the support of our volunteers, donors, bidders, and auctioneer Carrie Hessney, we added over $30,000 to our scholarship funds to support the next generation of tourism professionals.
Mark your calendars: Get ready to join us in Corning! We look forward to welcoming you to the Radisson Hotel Corning for the 2026 New York State Tourism Excellence Summit on September 16-18. Register & Book Your Room
