Press release
Batavia, NY –The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Genesee County’s
GeneSEEtheEclipse program has been selected to receive a Tourism Excellence award from the New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA).
The awards ceremony will take place on September 12th in Saratoga Springs.
The New York State Tourism Excellence Awards recognize the very best in destination marketing, management, and stewardship and is open to all New York State tourism marketers and are juried by an impartial panel of industry experts under the auspices of the New York State Tourism Industry Association.
“For more than a year, the Chamber staff worked collectively to ensure our community was prepared to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event. Only through incredible collaboration with numerous organizations and stakeholders, were we able to produce a campaign that demonstrated our unique position in the path of totality of the solar eclipse. Genny toured throughout our County for a year, was featured in her own Children’s book, and posed for numerous family photos. We are proud of the legacy that she leaves behind. We are thrilled to be honored by NYSTIA, as the dedicated and committed staff here truly put their passion into promoting the event. We are hopeful that she may just be around for the next one, in 2144!” said Chamber President, Brian Cousins.
The GeneSEEtheEclipse project was developed to commemorate Genesee County’s unique position along the “path of totality” of the April 8th Great North American Total Solar Eclipse. The goals of the project were to attract visitors to view the eclipse from our destination, to create eclipse celebrations throughout the county and to inform and engage our community members of the upcoming spectacle. “Although we are still awaiting figures for overall visitor impact, our Q2 lodging data reflects that short term rentals in April saw a +210% in revenue over 2023 and April hotel lodging was 25% above the previous year.
The Chamber plans to provide a full report later this fall once 2nd quarter tourism data becomes
available, said Kelly Rapone, Tourism Marketing Director.