Otsego County Tourism came away with six awards at the New York State Tourism Industry Association's (NYSTIA) 2026 Tourism Excellence Awards, presented Thursday, September 17, 2026, at a ceremony in Corning, New York. Two of the six awards recognize This Is Cooperstown's own work directly, the This Is Cooperstown Inspiration Guide and the Yōkoso to Cooperstown initiative surrounding the National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction welcoming Japanese visitors honoring Ichiro Suzuki to Cooperstown in 2025. The remaining four came through collaborative projects: the New York Susquehanna Basin Water Trail, developed by 2k Design with a coalition of Southern Tier destinations, which won in two categories, and My New York Vibe, produced by Paperkite — a fellow Otsego County-based creative agency — on behalf of the New York State Destination Marketing Organizations, which won in two categories and included Cooperstown among its statewide destinations.
The six honors are:
- Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Printed Materials — This Is Cooperstown Inspiration Guide
- Excellence in Transformational Tourism Stewardship: Destination Development & Community Engagement — Yōkoso to Cooperstown (ようこそ Cooperstown), This Is Cooperstown
- Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Trails & Itineraries — New York Susquehanna Basin Water Trail, 2k Design on behalf of This Is Cooperstown/Otsego County, Visit Binghamton, Discover Chemung, Friends of the Chemung River Watershed, Explore Steuben, and Experience Tioga
- Excellence in Transformational Tourism Stewardship: Destination Development & Community Engagement — New York Susquehanna Basin Water Trail, 2k Design on behalf of This Is Cooperstown/Otsego County, Visit Binghamton, Discover Chemung, Friends of the Chemung River Watershed, Explore Steuben, and Experience Tioga
- Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: Digital Marketing Campaign — My New York Vibe, Paperkite on behalf of NYSDMO
- Excellence in Tourism Marketing Campaigns, Projects & Programs: The Great Outdoors of New York State — My New York Vibe, Paperkite on behalf of NYSDMO
The Cooperstown & Otsego County Inspiration Guide and Yōkoso to Cooperstown (ようこそ Cooperstown) initiatives were both recognized as direct wins for This Is Cooperstown — the Inspiration Guide for its excellence in printed marketing materials for its use not only as a visitor guide but as a workforce recruitment and retention tool. The Yōkoso engagement campaign was recognized for its work introducing Cooperstown to Japanese-speaking travelers during the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction welcoming Ichiro Suzuki. This campaign was built as original visitor and business outreach rather than a translated afterthought.
The New York Susquehanna Basin Water Trail, developed by 2k Design on behalf of This Is Cooperstown/Otsego County and four other Southern Tier destination organizations, won in two categories — Trails & Itineraries and Destination Development & Community Engagement — reflecting a five-county collaboration connecting Cooperstown to a broader regional paddling and outdoor recreation network branded “Paddle the 607.”
Two of the six awards went to “My New York Vibe,” a statewide campaign produced by Paperkite, a Cooperstown-based creative and marketing agency, on behalf of New York State Destination Marketing Organizations. This Is Cooperstown was one of the contributing destinations across those two winning categories. This win in particular highlighted how a Cooperstown-based business helped shape how New York State markets itself to visitors year-round.
"Six awards in one night says something about the caliber of work coming out of this county," said Cass Majestic, CEO of the Destination Marketing Corporation for Otsego and Schoharie Counties. "Whether it's a guide built for welcoming Japanese travelers, a water trail connecting five counties, or a Cooperstown agency shaping New York's statewide campaign, this is what happens when small teams collaborate on work that competes on a national level. Otsego County isn't just a stop on someone else's itinerary, we're setting the pace."
Open to all tourism professionals and organizations throughout the state, the New York State Tourism Excellence Awards are determined through a competitive evaluation process led by a panel of impartial industry experts. This year's expanded categories drew entries from across New York State, giving judges a wide and highly qualified field to evaluate.
"It seems that each year the standards of excellence recognized by the NYS Tourism Excellence Awards & Summit are both elevated and evolved," said Bob Provost, President of NYSTIA. "They reflect the increasing sophistication of the visitor industry and the enlightened perspective of the intricate ecosystem of the visitor economy."