Announced by Governor Cuomo in May, the
Empire State is investing $60 million in a new tourism marketing campaign. After just $19 million in funding last year, this new commitment is the largest in decades, and elevates New York to third in the nation in tourism funding.

Judging from the enthusiasm at last night's event in midtown Manhattan celebrating the autumnal tastes of New York, this investment is poised for healthy returns. Several representatives of the Empire State Development agency were on hand to talk about the tourism program, along with a mix of chefs, beermakers, artisanal producers and other harvesters of New York's rich bounty.
Among the lively attendees was
Drew "The Wing King" Cerza from Buffalo, whose signature Buffalo wing recipe was the winner in a national episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay." Cerza is also the founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival, the 12th edition of which happens this Labor Day at Coca-Cola Park in Buffalo. Last year, 80,000 people from around the U.S. and 34 countries around the globe attended the event, where 40 tons of wings are consumed.

Also on hand was Peter X. Kelly, chef-owner of the
Xaviars Restaurant Group, a quartet of NYC-area dining draws including X20 on the Hudson. My good friends from the tourism boards of the four
Catskills counties were also there, along with representatives of Central New York, where the positive news includes a revival of the region's historic hop-growing economy. Already home to established producers such as Saranac and
Brewery Ommegang, this is a raised glass of expectation for increasing turnaround.

From the Adirondacks, where Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg will face off in a
whitewater rafting challenge on July 22, to the fertile Finger Lakes to the magical Thousand Islands-Seaway region, New York, with 11 distinct visitor regions, is a treasure trove of discovery in every category imaginable. Come experience the Empire State, stronger than ever.