Apr 11, 2017
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY– Dutchess Tourism, Inc. (DTI) will celebrate National Travel & Tourism Week by hosting a number of activities on National Travel Rally Day, May 9. The day will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a special breakfast where the annual Dutchess Tourism Awards of Distinction will be presented in seven categories. The breakfast will be followed by the Brochure Exchange at 10:00 a.m. where tourism related businesses located in Dutchess County are invited to bring at least 250 of their brochures to share in order to cross-promote to visitors. All events will take place at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum next to the Henry A. Wallace Visitors Center in Hyde Park.
Tourism continues to be a major economic driver for the county and has seen continuous growth since the agency began promoting the area in 1984. More than 4.5 million people visit annually and in 2015, spent an average of $528 million on lodging, food, shopping, and area attractions. Tourism is New York's fourth largest industry and employs almost 10,000 people within Dutchess County.
According to Dutchess Tourism President & CEO Mary Kay Vrba, “The Awards of Distinction are a way for us to celebrate the excellent work our tourism partners are doing to create a Distinctly Dutchess experience for the millions of visitors that travel to the Hudson Valley every year." She added, “They are the reason we have been recognized by National Geographic Traveler, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and The National Travel Association's Courier Magazine as one of the top destinations in the world!" Dutchess Tourism's Awards of Distinction will be given to destinations for excellence in Arts & Culture, Culinary, Family Fun, History, Outdoors, Hospitality and the County Executive's Award for Overall Excellence.
“The Brochure Exchange is an important networking event for tourism business getting ready to kick-off the busy travel season," said Dutchess Tourism vice president Melaine Rottkamp. “The more we all know about each other, the more we can recommend each other and form relationships we can build on to help us all grow and thrive. When visitors are excited about the many and varied things there are to do in Dutchess, they are more likely to stay longer or plan a return trip, which means they'll spend more and that's good for business!"
(Page 1 of 2)
The locally sourced buffet breakfast will be catered by Simply Gourmet and include Crown Maple Syrup, Irving Farm Coffee and Harney & Sons Fine Teas among other products. Central Hudson is the event's Platinum Sponsor. Advance reservations are required for the breakfast and tickets can be purchased at www.DutchessTourism.com/awards by May 1. Attendance at the Brochure Exchange is free but reservations are requested. Gold, Silver and Bronze Sponsorships for the events are also available. For more information, email info@dutchesstourism.com or call (845) 463-5432.
National Travel & Tourism Week was established by a congressional resolution in 1983 to champion the power of the industry and the impactful contributions tourism makes to the US economy. This year's theme shines a spotlight on the power of travel by recognizing the millions of people who keep this industry strong: the Faces of Travel.
ABOUT DUTCHESS TOURISM, INC.
The DTI office is located at 3 Neptune Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie with 18 Tourism Information Centers located around Dutchess County. Their website is www.DutchessTourism.com and they can be reached at 845-463-4000. Dutchess County Tourism was founded in 1984 under the umbrella of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, became incorporated as Dutchess Tourism, Inc. in 2014 and is partially funded by monies received from the County of Dutchess.