Jennifer Tavares, CEcD, President and CEO
Tourism Update & Welcome to Peggy Coleman!
The year to date tourism outcomes for Tompkins County are strong. Occupancy is up, rates are up, and demand is up. Visitors are enjoying the finished Commons in downtown Ithaca, good times in Trumansburg, and plenty of great restaurants all over the county, despite some disappointment with our dry waterfalls.
Our team at the CVB has done an incredible job marketing Ithaca and Tompkins County through numerous channels, enhancing and improving visitor service operations, and generating leads and supporting the booking of group tours and weddings. Numerous PR hits and travel writer visits have yielded great coverage YTD for our community. We’ve joined with regional partners to produce a Cayuga Lake Scenic Byway video which will be available in numerous languages.
The CVB team has launched several successful campaigns (more detail here) as well as supporting important projects such as the Visitor Profile Study update, the launch of an updated Ithacaevents.com website, and supporting efforts to develop agri-culinary tourism in Tompkins County. In addition to accomplishing all of this and more, we’ve been trying to enjoy the gorgeous summer and all that the Ithaca area has to offer. I can’t say enough about how well they’ve handled this transition, or how proud I am of our team!
Now for even more good news! We are so proud and excited to share that Peggy Coleman, a veteran in the regional hospitality industry, joined the Chamber & CVB team in mid-July. Peggy comes to us with nearly 30 years of hospitality industry experience, and over a decade of experience managing the Steuben County CVB. She understands the Tompkins County tourism assets, Finger Lakes Region, how to work with our partners at New York State for positive outcomes. Peggy was selected to join our team by the staff, search committee and board—because we know she will drive the CVB to the next level of performance and success.
Please join me in welcoming Peggy to our team. If you see Peggy out and about, please introduce yourself.