The Bassmasters Elite Tournament will be held on Cayuga Lake August 21-24, 2014, launching from Frontenac Park in Union Springs. Organized by the Union Springs Chamber of Commerce along with Bassmasters, the event will feature four days of great music, food and family fun along with major league fishing. (Note: previously some activities were happening at the Fingerlakes Mall, but a change has been made and all activities will be at Frontenac Park). Anglers, spectators and other visitors are still looking for places to stay, so if any hotels have availability over these dates, please let the Tourism Office know.  Also, if you have a discount or special offer that you would like to offer during this period, please bring a supply of coupons to the Tourism Office, describing the offer so we can get them in the hands of the many people visiting Cayuga County during the event. For more information visit www.fishcayuga.com and www.bassmaster.com/elite 

The Cayuga County Department of Planning and Economic Development is working with the Cayuga County Parks Commission and the Parks Department to update the 2001 Emerson Park Plan. The last in a series of Public Meetings is planned for individuals and agencies interested in the future of Emerson Park on Wednesday, August 27, 2014, 7-9 p.m. at the Emerson Park Pavilion. Please make every effort to attend, as your input is welcome and needed!

As the needs, wants and expectations of the tourist become more demanding; video has become an important tourism marketing tool to engage potential consumers. Recognizing this need, the Office of Tourism has created a new video to promote Cayuga County. The video is featured on our web site and YouTube channel and Auburn Regional Media Access (ARMA) has been showing it on a regular basis. If you would like a copy of the video to support the your own promotional efforts, stop in the Tourism Office or feel free to link to the video on YouTube. Check it out! 

Syracuse Hancock International Airport is a gateway for tourists and business professionals alike with approximately 165,306 monthly passengers passing through. An opportunity has come up for a presence in the South Terminal Concourse for a wall display that will be visible to arriving and departing passengers on JetBlue and U.S. Airways. If you are traveling after August 1st, look out for our Cayuga County/Finger Lakes display.

This workshop is designed to help you capture a share of the $102 billion Chinese outbound tourism market with presentations on understanding the Chinese visitor and how to work with Chinese tour operators. The workshop will be held Friday, July 25, 2014, 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon at the Woodcliff Hotel Spa, 199 Woodcliff Drive, Fairport, NY. The workshop is free but you must register by July 16, 2014 in order to participate. Registration link: https://registration.sitesolutionsworldwide.com/synergy/v_1_/home/login.php?ccc=0_0_906&syntrack=&scid=906  

For program questions, contact Danae Jones at djones@esd.ny.gov 

• At the Cayuga County CVB Annual Meeting held on June 3rd at Long Point Winery, A.T. Walley & Co. and Pumpkin Hill Bistro & Vineyard were honored with tourism awards for their outstanding contributions to tourism in Cayuga County.


• The Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail video project was selected as a winner of two 2014 Telly Awards. The Telly Awards are the premier international awards honoring the finest film and video productions, groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films, and outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs. The 34th Annual Telly Awards received over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and 5 continents. The video project was a partnership between the Cayuga County Office of Tourism and the Telcom Department and School of Social Media at Cayuga Community College.