News

[ORLANDO, FL] September 7, 2025 – Cassie Donegan, Miss New York, has been crowned Miss America 2026 after two inspiring nights of preliminary competition featuring 52 delegates representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Cassie becomes the 98th woman to hold the…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Amanda Dana, Director of Tourism and Film at Orange County Tourism , will share about their award winning digital marketing campaign as a case study. Authenticity is the new currency in tourism marketing. Join…

Join us on Friday in Lake George at the 250 Commemoration Summit where Melaine Rottkamp, President & CEO from Destination Dutchess, will share their campaign for the 250th.  Launched Presidents’ Day weekend, Dutchess County’s Commander-in-Cheers program is quite…

Join us on Friday in Lake George at the 250 Commemoration Summit where Matthew Keagle, Curator from Fort Ticonderoga, will share his talk that will explore the many ways Fort Ticonderoga is commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolutionary War. From special events,…

Join us on Friday in Lake George at the 250 Commemoration Summit where Lauren Roberts, Saratoga County Historian & Chair of Saratoga250 from Saratoga County 250th, will share her presentation on the Knox Trail. This year is the 250th anniversary of the Noble Train of Artillery's…

Join us on Friday in Lake George at the 250 Commemoration Summit where William Armstrong, Director of Communications from Sail4th 250, will share an inside look at next year's visual spectacle: the largest-ever parade of sail with more than 40 tall ships, an International Naval Review, a…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Allison Brown, Director of Marketing at Discover Long Island, will share their campaign as a case study. Discover Long Island has redefined destination marketing through creativity, agility, and authentic…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Lisa Wisely, Tourism Director at Delaware County Economic Development, will share the Map Your Moment campaign a case study. This session will review the award winning campaign Map Your Moment which they did…

Join us Friday at the 250 Commemoration Summit to hear from Lavada Nahon, Interpreter of African American History at NYS-OPRHP Bureau of Historic Sites as she expands on New York's two major Black history anniversaries in 2027. July 4/5 the 200th anniversary of the legal end of slavery, and August…

During your time in Lake George for the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards & Summit, we invite you to explore the many dining options nearby! For meals not included in the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Awards & Summit program, don’t forget to make dinner reservations and discover the diverse…

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that New York State has reached a settlement agreement with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, bringing an end to a decades-long dispute that first commenced in 1982 over litigation regarding land purchases. The agreement includes land restitution to the Saint Regis…

Jordan Dunn is the Marketing & Development Manager for Pride Commercial Appliance Services. PrideCAS specializes in the installation, maintenance, and repair of commercial kitchen equipment. Serving a wide range of industries, they ensure minimal downtime and high efficiency with their skilled…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Astrid Jirka, Director of Tourism Initiatives at Discover Cayuga Lake, will share how we can all take a role in working towards a sustainable tourism industry in New York State. DCL will present their work in…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Kristina Mukherjee, Director of Marketing & Communications at Destination Dutchess, will share the Discover Dutchess Destination guide as a case study. This session will share best practices in creating an…

Join us on Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit where Maureen Wheeler, Deputy Director, and Ashley Comeau, Director of Tourism, at Livingston County Economic Development and Tourism, will share how Livingston County Economic Development and Livingston County…

"With the pace of change in our industry, a strong destination brand is more important than ever. It serves as a beacon—attracting visitors by letting them know what you stand for—and it goes beyond a great logo and tagline." Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence…

Join us Thursday morning in Lake George at the 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Summit to hear from Lakshmee L-Persad, President & Founder of Accessible Travel NYC. She'll present the Disability Pride, Disability Joy, Exists™ case study—an inspiring example where equity in tourism can be realized…

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the start of the fall foliage travel season throughout New York State. Autumn is historically one of New York's most popular travel periods, thanks to one of America's longest and most colorful foliage seasons, attracting visitors from around the world who…

Governor Hochul today announced that $200 million in funding is available through the State’s two signature downtown revitalization and economic development programs—$100 million each for Round 9 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and Round 4 of the NY Forward program, which…

We had another successful year at The Great New York State Fair! As my 13-day 'fair-cation' comes to an end, I am pleased to report that we distributed thousands of guides and we had countless meaningful conversations with fairgoers. Fairgoers appreciated our presence at the fair and the opportunity…