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Greetings!
Winter may not seem like the best time of
year for those of us that live in the Finger
Lakes year round, but for visitors it's a
time to delight in the sweetness of a Finger
Lakes ice wine and enjoy the cozy romance of
our country inns and B&Bs, while avoiding the
crowds and higher prices of the busy summer
and fall seasons. Winter in the Finger Lakes
offers visitors cross-country skiing on
pristine snow-covered lakeshores, time to
browse leisurely through our museums, and
great lodging prices. There may not be as
many visitors around during the winter
months, but those that do come are sure to be
pampered and appreciated.
2009 Visitors Guide to Cayuga County
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As I am writing, the 2009 Visitors Guide is
on press and will be available by the time
you receive this newsletter. This year's
guide retained the same format of the popular
2008 guide with additional new photography
added. The cover image was taken on the
veranda of the Aurora Inn with the
breathtaking view of Cayuga Lake as the
backdrop. 65,000 guides are being printed to
use as a response to visitor inquiries, and
to be distributed at tourism information
centers and travel shows. In addition, the
guides will be available at all
accommodations and major venues within Cayuga
County. Local firm, Coburn Design, designed
the guide. Please stop by the Tourism Office
to pick up a supply. Our winter office hours
are Monday-Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
and Thursday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Travel Trends
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The 2009 results of the annual "Travel Trends
Survey" produced by "Travel Leaders" show
that the U.S. recession is having a major
impact on the traveling public and the travel
industry. The 2009 traveler is focused on
saving money and these are the top ways the
are looking to do that:
- Being flexible with dates
- Staying at all-inclusives
- Using frequent flyer miles
- Taking a cruise
- Booking only if there is a promotion or
'deal'
- Taking shorter trips
- Driving rather than flying
Travelers are also booking much later due to
the economy and job security, making it
extremely difficult to forecast upcoming
bookings. It is definitely a 'buyers market'
when it come to travel in 2009 and the hope
is that the incomparable incentives and
promotions being offered will spur the public
to travel.
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Calling all Event Planners
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If you have an event coming up that will
bring visitors to Cayuga County, please
submit details to our Digital Marketing
Manager, Maureen McEvers, [email protected].
Your event will be posted on the www.tourcayuga.com
and iloveny.com
web
sites free of charge.
Events must occur in Cayuga County and have
the potential to draw visitors from outside
our local communities.
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Tourism Board Welcomes Chair of County Legislature
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Peter Tortorici, the new Chair of the Cayuga
County Legislature, will serve as an
Ex-Officio Director on the Cayuga County
Convention and Visitors Bureau (CCCVB) Board
of Directors. The CCCVB is very proud and
pleased to have the Chair of the Legislature
devote time and interest to our tourism
promotion efforts.
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New Interactive Calendar on TourCayuga.com
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A new interactive calendar of events has been
added to tourcayuga.com,
making it easier for visitors to find events
happening over the entire period of time that
they intend to visit. Check out http://www.tourcayuga.com/events/events.php
and try out the new calendar.
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VacationNYToday.com
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Cayuga County is participating in the New
York Travel & Vacation Association's new
cooperative website, www.vacationnytoday.com.
Through a combination of banner advertising
and web site copy this program will give
Cayuga County a presence in major feeder
markets including Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Cleveland, Toronto and Ottawa. We will also
be featured on major travel sites including
tripadvisor.com, Travel.Yahoo.com and
Fodors.com. In addition, there will be
banner ads placed on news/search/social sites
including NYTimes.com, Weather.com,
Google.com and Linkedin.com. This new
program will give Cayuga County a greatly
expanded presence on the Internet, which
continues to be the #1 resource for visitor
information. The official launch is March 1,
2009.
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News to share
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- Burritt's Caf� in
Weedsport received the 2008 Small Business of
the Year Award from the Cayuga County Chamber
of Commerce. Burritt's features Organic
Fair Trade Coffee, light meals daily,
pastries made in-house and music
Thursday-Sunday. Visit www.burritts.com.
- Marc and Dawn Shultz opened
Bistro One in downtown
Auburn in December. The restaurant features
an eclectic mix of appetizers, soups, salads
and entrees, with seasonal offerings of
organic and local products when they are
available. Visit www.bistroone.org.
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