There’s More To NY Than NYC

New York tourism officials called in Toronto recently with a clear message: There’s more to New York than New York City!

“One of the points that we are attempting to convey is a different way of looking at that logo,” Markly Wilson, director of international marketing for the New York State Division of Tourism, said pointing at an I Love NY logo. “There’s no doubt the first thing that comes to mind is skyscrapers, the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, but the fact is New York is much more than that.”

Presented by The New York State Division of Tourism and I Love NY, the event highlighted several off-the-beaten-path vacationing ideas available across the state, such as glamping at the six-million-acre Adirondack Park or taking a trip to the JELL-O Gallery Museum in LeRoy to follow a Jell-o Brick Road.

“These are new ways you can add to the delight of customers by offering enticing and interesting additions to a NYC occasion,” Wilson said.

Providing Canadian visitors with information on various destinations throughout Upstate New York, representatives from A Welcome Surprise were on hand to showcase several new and upcoming attractions:

• Adventure seekers may be interested in checking out Roseland Wake Park, an open cable wake park with a five-tower system that can accommodate up to nine wakeboarders, water skiers and knee-boarders at a time. The park — the first cable wake park in northeastern US – also features a smaller two-tower system for practice and training, and ramps, rails and kickers of different difficulty levels.
• The family friendly Bristol Mountain Aerial Adventures added a zipline canopy tour for visitors who want to zip along a 5,000-foot trail, as well as a new mobile adventure park with nets, bridges and monkey ropes and two additional aerial adventure park courses.
• Another idea for the whole family is a stop at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, which is boasting two new rides, the Rolling Thunder, a seven-story coaster with six loops, and the Brain Drain, a wet-and-wild waterslide rocking riders down over 300 feet of waterslide, including a 360-degree loop, in just 10 seconds.
• Those looking to take in some art and culture can visit the Corning Museum of Glass, dedicated to the art, history and science of glass, which recently opened a new Art & Contemporary Design Wing in March and expanded its exhibition and demonstration space by 100,000 sq. ft. The museum includes a 26,000-sq.-ft. art gallery, glass blowing demonstrations and live glass design sessions. And, opening this month at Ganondagan Native American Historic Site, is the Seneca Art and Culture Center, a year-round interpretive facility telling the story of Seneca and Haudenosaunee contributions to art, culture and society.
• Finally, beer aficionados may want to try a pint from three new breweries in Cayuga County: Prison City Pub & Brewery, Lunkenhiemer Craft Brewing and The Good Shepherds Brewing Company.

During the Toronto event, which also featured Consul General of the United States Jim Dickmeyer, Wilson made a point of noting just how important the Canadian market is to the state.

“You deliver more visitors to New York than any other place in the world,” he said to Travel Courier following the presentation. “In addition to that, [Canadians] spend more money than people from any other country, so does that not make you important? Of course it does.”

He added that the majority of visitors stem from Quebec and Ontario, and New York tourism’s commitment to Canada is “greater than it has ever been.”

(https://www.travelpress.com/subscription/IDEA/101415_072315_tc/#?page=12)