NYSTIA Advocacy: On The Road In Rochester!

NYSTIA's Bob Provost and Nate Gresock were in Rochester on October 22 to address the 2024 Partners For Workforce and Economic Development Conference (presented by the New York Association of Training and Employment Professionals in partnership with the New York State Economic Development Council). The response from attendees was gratifying!

In remarks at Tuesday's breakfast, Bob shared the key points of the 'Tourism Done Right' concept of tourism stewardship, the 'state of the industry' update on 2023's record setting visitor spending, and introduced the 'NEW YORKERS- TAKE YOUR VACATION advocacy initiative. Anecdotal feedback was extremely positive. Attendees went out of their way throughout the day to discuss their reactions (positive, enthusiastic, shocked) to the statistics and insights provided.

"Obviously, our industry has a great narrative and we have to be more aggressive about sharing it," observed Bob. "Tourism is not widely understood or appreciated from so many perspectives. Our industry, as successful as it is today, has so much untapped potential and would receive much greater support if we did a better job of providing key stakeholders with the right information and perspective." 

Nate Gresock provided attendees with insights and answers regarding New York's unparalleled array of tourism destinations and experiences from our exhibit booth, conveniently set up in the area just outside the general session ballroom. Attendees queued up for the 'Picture Yourself in New York' photos and helped themselves to a surprising amount of literature! One attendee remarked 'It's just WRONG that I have lived here all my life and never knew about all these places right here in New York State!"