Tioga County Tourism response to COVID-19

Tioga County Tourism is adjusting their upcoming marketing schedule and programming in response to the social distancing and closure directives caused by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Their mission is to support our local tourism businesses by bringing visitors to Tioga County. 

Obviously, that is not possible or advisable at this time, so they are turning their efforts to letting the local public know what opportunities are out there to continue to support local businesses. This is not an easy task as there are hundreds of tourism businesses in Tioga County making adjustments based on information that continues to change rapidly. 

In a statement, the Director, Rebecca Maffei, stated, “However, we understand the serious impact that this is having, and likely will continue to have, on Tioga County businesses. Right now, there are factors that we have no control over, but we have identified some things that we can do that may be able to make a positive impact. We will not be running any promotions that require a buy-in, so they will be free and only require the time it takes to send us information.”

To find out about these promotions, they encourage you to connect with them in the following ways: 

If you do not currently receive emails from them, send them your email address and they will add it to their tourism partner email list. You will receive periodic emails about the promotions they are running that you can participate in. 

Join the “Experience Tioga Partners Group” on Facebook. This is a private group for Tioga County tourism businesses only. Tourism will post updates and promotions as they develop. Other social media channels are aimed at consumers and they do not generally post industry information, so you will not see updates for partners on our Experience Tioga Facebook page. 

For now, email is the best way to contact Tourism. Send your email to Rebecca Maffei, director, at rebecca@experiencetioga.com or Loreen Maley, assistant director, at info@experiencetioga.com.

Please note, they will continue to keep an eye on your Facebook pages and websites for new information, but have limited manpower and cannot keep up with what everyone is doing this way, so they are asking you to reach out to them. Let them know if you are open, have started offering special services (such as curbside service, delivery, etc.), have online shopping or ordering, virtual tours, classes or entertainment, or if you are engaging with your customers in a unique or creative way. 

Tourism has already published a list of restaurants on their website’s homepage, www.experiencetioga.com. If you own or operate a dining establishment, please take a look and let them know if they need to add your business or change the information that is there.