The Cayuga County Office of Tourism in collaboration with Visit Syracuse is sponsoring a seminar on International Tourism for County Tourism stakeholders and community leaders interested in learning how to serve the growing international market coming to New York State for leisure, business and education.  The seminar will focus on simple steps to welcome these visitors that can be implemented by even very small businesses.  The seminar will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, Auburn.  The $15 fee includes a light lunch.  For those unable to attend the Auburn seminar, you are welcome to attend the seminar the next morning, April 22 at Destiny.  To register email barb@tourcayuga.com.

The Finger Lakes Sweet Treat Trail Tasting Tour kick-off will be held Friday, May 1, 2015 from 5-8 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in conjunction with downtown Auburn's First Friday events.  Vendors from many of the Trail's 20 stops will be in attendance to offer samplings of their luscious sweet treats.  From jams and jellies to honey and cookies produced with locally sourced ingredients, you'll find something to satisfy your sweet tooth.  The event is free and open to the public.

National Travel and Tourism Week will be held May 2-10, 2015.  This annual celebration was established by a congressional resolution in 1983 and first celebrated in 1984.  The nationwide week of events serves to champion the power of the travel and tourism industry.  A brief presentation highlighting Cayuga County Tourism will be held at Auburn City Hall at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 7th for anyone that would like to attend. 

Empire State Development's Division of Tourism has launched a free I Love NY app to promote New York State Tourism.  To download the free app, visit iTunes or Google Play app store on your device or go to www.iloveny.com/mobile.

Lots of interesting folks pass through the Cayuga County Office of Tourism with visitors coming from 43 different States and Washington, DC as well as 12 different countries in 2014! It's no surprise that we see the most visitors in July and August and the least in February but we are open year-round to answer visitor inquiries and help them with trip planning. 

After 5 years of dedicated service, Barb Murdoch our Administrative and Project Coordinator will be retiring on May 1st.  Congratulations Barb!

• The Aurora Inn and E.B. Morgan House once again were awarded AAA Four Diamond Awards!  Only 14 properties in central and western NY hold this prestigious award.  Congratulations to the Inns of Aurora team!
• Auburn, NY was named one of the "Best Places for Small Business in the northeast" by talenttribune.software.com
• Wine Enthusiast magazine named the Finger Lakes one of its "Top ten wine travel destinations for 2015.