A Little Opinion About NYS Tourism Ads…

Next month is a big month for people involved in New York State tourism: the New York State Travel and Vacation Association is holding the Empire State Tourism Conference in Albany, from February 8th to the 10th. I won’t be able to attend, unfortunately. But that doesn’t hinder me from offering a few opinions about New York State tourism.

My main beef: Don’t treat Upstate New York as if it was an “alternative” travel destination. I have seen this so often. IF Upstate is even marketed, it’s marketed with a negative connotation. I’m sure that’s not the intent of the marketing agenda, but that attitude seems to be prevalent with a lot of the Upstate tourism marketing I come across. For example: I saw these banner ads while surfing information on New York State tourism:

I dislike them very much! They come across with a preconceived, negative attitude about New York tourism, and Upstate New York tourism in particular. As if to say, “Oh we know how hokey it is in Upstate New York, we know it’s always been the last thing on your mind to visit- but go ahead and give us a try this time!”

It’s a little insulting. :-p

I think Upstate NY should be treated with a little more respect. Upstate NY is a GREAT place to visit! We don’t need to be patronized— Upstate New York should be marketed for what it is! Upstate should not be marketed for what it is not, and especially NOT for what preconceived perceptions there may be about us here. Market Upstate New York for the great place that it IS. Upstate New Yorkers are weary of being treated as “the other New Yorkers” living in “the other New York.” I personally don;t like Upstate as considered as an “alternative afterthought” to it’s flashy and gaudy sister, New York City. Maybe I’m being too touchy… but I REALLY want to see tourism here rejuvenated. I dislike any marketing strategy with even the slightest hint of “try it out and see” or “the other” attitude.

P.S. I also saw this banner ad in the same bunch as the others, and while it was still kind of hokey, it made me laugh:

P.P.S. We are not Appalachia!

Travel and New York State Blogs

I’ve found some unique blogs recently, even some New York State blogs! I wonder which state of the United States has the most active bloggers. New York State must be up near the top ten, perhaps even the top five. I find a lot of New York blogs (most of them are from the city or from the Buffalo area).

Here’s an interesting blog, Unadilla Ramblings, which showcases the beautiful rural aspects of New York’s countryside. It also details the destroying of our beautiful Upstate by greedy developers and politicians. Upstate is definitely under attack, as the powers-that-be desire the rich resources up here. I am dismayed at the rampant greed and destruction of the state.

HistoryLite is a website I recently discovered. It has lots of videos and an informative section on the mid-to-eastern section of Central New York (the eastern edge of the Mohawk Valley). It also has videos of very old advertisements, many of which are quite entertaining! It’s a good one.

And here’s a great blog– not about New York– but about world travel. The most recent posts are about travel to Iceland and it looks so beautiful! It’s called Travel Video Blog and is one section from an enormous website authored by Juraj Svajdlenka. I hope to see much more on his travels, because his posts are very readable and the photos really capture the area he visits.

Have fun exploring!