Tioga County Tourism is pleased to announce a free Promotional Program for Dog Friendly tourism businesses that will launch in July of 2016. “It’s a simple program to participate in and does not cost our tourism partners anything to be a part of,” said Rebecca Maffei, director of Tioga County Tourism.
This program is open to all tourism businesses that allow dogs into their shops, lodging establishments, parks or eateries that allow outdoor dining with your dog. “Tioga County has a lot of dog friendly businesses that also cater to visitors, and pet friendly travel is a growing trend among tourists. We want dog owners to know there are a lot of places to stay, eat and play with their pets in Tioga County,” said Maffei.
The inspiration for the program came from the new Rebecca Weitsman Memorial Dog Park, a state-of-the-art dog park in Hickories Park in Owego that opened this year. The park was donated by local businessman Adam Weitsman in honor of his sister, Rebecca, and is maintained by Owego Dog Owners Group (ODOG), a group of volunteers dedicated to developing dog friendly communities in Tioga County.
“I don’t think that attracting visitors was necessarily the main drive of the project, but it certainly has become an attraction for tourists with dogs, and we want them to know that there is a lot you can do with your dog when you stay in Tioga County,” said Maffei.
The Dog Friendly Promotional Program will allow Tioga County Tourism to collect information on dog friendly tourism businesses for promotion on their website and other marketing opportunities. Tourism has created a logo for the program and they give a poster to participants to put in their business’ window to show they are dog friendly. The logo will be available to them to use in their own traditional, digital and social media marketing as well.
“The goal of this program is to brand Tioga County as a fun and convenient place to visit and stay with your pet. The more businesses that use the logo, the more recognizable it will be,” said Maffei.
Although this program is aimed at tourism businesses, non-tourism businesses in Tioga County are welcome to apply and can still receive a poster for their business and the logo to use.
To obtain an application, contact the Tioga County Tourism Office by calling (607) 687-7440.
