NYSTIA Partner Feature: Dave Granoff at Discover Upstate NY

Dave Granoff is the CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Discover Upstate NY (DUNY), the 'go-to' site for tourism in Upstate New York. DUNY features more than 3,400 pages including hundreds of tourist attractions, recreational activities, historic sites, and places to dine & stay throughout the 9 Upstate regions, West of NYC. Focusing on family activities, it features 66 'destination' cities & towns, adventure tourism, historical exploration, shopping, culinary tours, wine & brew trails, Erie Canal attractions, fishing charters, and more.

DUNY is a growing company, and currently employs a dynamic staff of six, including Deb Denny (Creative Writing, North Syracuse), Charmaine Danlels (Social Media, Albany), Keith Calveric and Andrew Pushlar (KCNY Designs, Inc., web design and graphics, Syracuse), Teresa Farrell (Creative Blog Writer, Cohoes) and Madelyn Roberts (MAR Media Consulting, marketing/sales, Long Island). The website contains dynamic mapping and direction modules, a daily Events calendar, an active Blog post, festival listing, and an ever-changing 'Trendings' section on the homepage which focuses on the latest seasonal news from third-party organizations that focus on Upstate vacationing. The site receives an average of 100K visitors a month and its active Facebook site has over 26K likes.

After leaving the medical profession in Philadelphia, Pa. and moving to Upstate NY, Dave has pursued tourism (as a second career) at both the local, city, and now state-wide level for more than 15 years. Associated activities include current Chairmanship of Canal NY (the Erie Canal), Board Member of the proposed Lake Ontario Marine Sanctuary, Executive Board Member of the Safe Haven Museum (Fort Ontario, Oswego, NY), community Board Member of WPBS Public TV in Watertown, and Member of the TAC (Tourism Advisory Council) of Oswego County.

On a more personal note, Dave enjoys history, art, music and electronics, emergency weather reporting as a certified weather spotter for NOAA in Buffalo, communicating world-wide with amateur radio (his FCC callsign - K3AS), restoring classic cars (MG and Jaguars), and community service as a Board Member of his local Rotary Club and Salvation Army.

DUNY is currently serving as a partner member of NYSTIA and has been affiliated for the past 10+ years. The website won the 2021 NYSTIA “Award of Excellence in Overall Tourism Marketing by a Private Sector Entity." You can read more about the award here.

The site remains a work in progress, and the staff provides constant updates and improvements. Posting of additional attractions, new activities, upcoming events, and new listings is encouraged and free of charge - to our partners in the tourism industry across Upstate NY. Dave welcomes a call or email to discuss additions and ways to promote NY tourism here.

Contact Dave with your needs or questions: