For Immediate Release
August 13, 2025
Contact: Peggy Coleman, President and CEO, Tompkins Chamber
president@tompkinschamber.org| 607-273-7080
VISIT Ithaca, DISCOVER CAYUGA LAKE HONORED WITH TOURISM EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Tompkins County’s nature, culture and culinary scene were among the reasons it sits atop the Top 10 list
ITHACA, NY (August 13, 2025) – Two local organizations will be celebrated this fall by the New York State Tourism Industry Association for their work in making Tompkins County a welcoming place to visit.
Visit Ithaca and Discover Cayuga Lake are both recipients of NYSTIA’s 2025 New York State Tourism Excellence awards, which will be presented in September. Open to all tourism professionals and organizations throughout the state, the award winners were selected following a competitive evaluation process led by a panel of impartial industry experts. Entries this year came from every region of the state, and the number of nominations continued its trajectory of growth.
Visit Ithaca’s Visitor Experience team will receive the Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs. The visitor experience department was selected based on the quantity and quality of visitor engagements — from travel planning through assisting visitors while they are in Tompkins County, and inspiring return travel. Not only does the team staff the Downtown and Taughannock Overlook visitor centers, they also connect with people at campus events, over the phone, through online chat and email.
“I’m thrilled our Visitor Experience Department has won a 2025 NYS Tourism Excellence Award. Our team works incredibly hard each day to be present, informed, and welcoming to visitors from all 50 states and over 80 countries,” said Jodi LaPierre, director of visitor experience for Visit Ithaca. “They are out in our communities, familiarizing themselves with events, restaurants, and points of interest.
“In addition to staffing our two visitor centers, they are tabling on our college campuses for family weekends, prospective and accepted student visits, at our local conference center and hotels for meetings and conferences (when requested) and responding to online chat inquiries, phone calls and emails,” she added. “They are constantly exceeding expectations, and I’m thrilled to see them get recognized for their commitment to our thriving tourism community.”
Discover Cayuga Lake was honored with the Excellence in Sustainable Stewardship: Champions of Change award. This award highlights those who are working toward more sustainable practices, such as encouraging more conscientious, low-impact visitor behavior, promoting the appreciation of local cultures, supporting local conservation efforts, reducing carbon emissions, implementing sustainable benefits to local communities or taking part in local decision-making efforts that support greener communities.
“We are honored to receive an award that recognizes the many years of work and energy that have gone into developing our organization and programs to be in line with principles related to watershed sustainability and community resilience,” said Astrid Jirka, director of tourism initiatives for Discover Cayuga Lake. “In all aspects of our work, we strive to have the lowest environmental impact, to have a positive community impact, and to create access to the unique resource that we live near – Cayuga Lake – so that current and future generations will be well informed and be effective stewards of the lake and the land that surrounds it.
“While our non-profit work is focused primarily on a local audience, our business model is tightly connected with our local tourism sector and visitors to our area,” she added. “We are striving to set a good example of an organization dedicated to sustainability locally and are pleased to be recognized for this work by a statewide tourism association.”
For more information about Discover Cayuga Lake, its tours and how it works in a sustainable way, visit discovercayugalake.org.
About Visit Ithaca
Tompkins County Convention & Visitors Bureau (Visit Ithaca) is the official destination management organization for Tompkins County, highlighted by CNN as America’s Best Town to Visit in 2025. We work with the Strategic Tourism Planning Board, an advisory board to the Tompkins County Legislature, to support the county’s strategic tourism plan goals in fostering a healthy economy and a vibrant destination and improving the quality of life in Tompkins County. Visit us online at VisitIthaca.com.
About New York State Tourism Industry Association
The New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) is a member-driven, 501(c)6 nonprofit organization at the vanguard of transformational tourism marketing, stewardship and long-term strategic planning. We assist our members in advancing responsible economic growth, creating jobs, revitalizing communities, supporting small business success, and increasing state and local tax revenues to improve the standard of living, quality of life and pride of place for New York State communities and residents. For more information, visit nystia.org.