New York State Tourism Industry Association and Airbnb partner to help guests Roam the Empire and Schoharie County

The New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA) and Airbnb announced today the launch of a new partnership to promote travel within Schoharie County, with a focus on local attractions, unique stays and experiences in Schoharie County and six other New York State counties, highlighting the best each has to offer guests. 

The partnership builds on NYSTIA’s ‘ROAM THE EMPIRE’ campaign and is a collaborative effort to support post-pandemic recovery in Schoharie County, Sullivan County, Hamilton County, Dutchess County, Otsego County, Steuben County, Seneca County and Wyoming County and the many local shops, restaurants and workers in each who rely on the local tourism industry.

The social media and email campaign will target potential travelers in the state and a landing page features a curated list of nearby stays, experiences, and local businesses to help travelers plan their future trips to Schoharie County. They say all roads lead through Schoharie County, but it’s much more than a stopover destination. Travelers can enjoy hiking through the vast scenic landscape, learning about the area's historic sites and shopping at the many specialty shops in the County’s quaint small towns. 

“We welcome Airbnb’s promotional support for New York State’s tourism industry and its recovery from the pandemic,” stated Bob Provost, President & CEO of the New York State Tourism Industry Association. “By highlighting destinations from across the state’s many tourism regions they help to inform New Yorkers (and others) that world-class travel destinations of all kinds are easily accessed right here in their backyard.” 

“We’re thrilled to work with NYSTIA and these seven New York counties to help inspire tourism  and ensure that each county continues to benefit from the type of travel enabled by Airbnb,” said Kelly Fay, Public Policy Associate for Airbnb. 

Tourism is a crucial aspect of many economies in New York, many of which were greatly affected by the pandemic. According to NYSTIA, more than 300,000 New Yorkers lost tourism-related jobs during the pandemic. The ROAM THE EMPIRE cause campaign makes the point that travel within the state will help reemploy fellow New Yorkers, revitalize communities and small businesses and restore badly needed tax revenue. Travel within the state will help reemploy workers and help restore badly needed tax revenue. Airbnb has long recognized the importance of ensuring that New York’s counties benefit from travel on the platform and has proactively signed voluntary tax collection agreements with 34 of New York’s 62 counties to collect their local bed taxes, including Schoharie County. The county received over $21,000 in remitted bed tax revenue from Airbnb in 2019.* 

“Schoharie County is woven with wonderful vistas, underground attractions, farm stands with fresh seasonal produce and has very few cities and even less hotels. During the pandemic, it became a place of solace and infinite opportunities to distance oneself and their loved ones from threatTo meet the demand, more property owners are offering to share their space with traveling guests,” said Cassandra Harrington, executive director of Destination Marketing Corporation, Tourism Promotion Agent for Otsego & Schoharie Counties. “There are so many hidden gems tucked away in the hills. Its opportunities like this that fuel our pandemic recovery. We’re thankful that Airbnb and NYSTIA have offered this program to highlight Schoharie County as a place to visit.”

Home sharing has also provided important additional income for many New Yorkers during the pandemic. In fact, the Hudson Valley and Catskills are the top region for new Airbnb Host income, with new Airbnb Hosts with only one listing earning nearly $13 million between March 2020 and March 2021.**

“I’m thrilled to host guests from across the state and globe as they travel here to experience the natural beauty of our area. We’ve experienced firsthand how tourism can benefit both our family in the form of providing income along with stimulating the economy in our community as our guests visit the local restaurants, attractions and small businesses,” said Stephen Pellicano, Airbnb Host in Schoharie County. “Hosting unique listings on our property called The Sun Barn has allowed us to meet so many wonderful people and we’re excited that this campaign will encourage more travelers to come discover everything our region has to offer.”

Partnering with NYSTIA is part of Airbnb’s work with governments and tourism agencies globally to support economic recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. By working with destination marketing organizations, nonprofits and governments to support responsible and safe travel, Airbnb is helping communities harness these economic benefits for local citizens and small businesses.

*Based on Airbnb data from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.

**Based on internal data between March 11, 2020 and March 11, 2021.