White Plains, NY: Westchester Tourism & Film recently invested in a program in partnership with Alon Tourism Solutions to increase the volume of visitors arriving from countries around the world.  Located just (30) miles north of NYC, the area often hosted international visitors who might travel from nearby NYC during their stay there.  This new educational tourism program is purposeful; it highlighted Westchester as a destination and directly connected area accommodations and destination products with the global travel trade who will prioritize offering their clients travel directly to the area.  This new partnership will establish Westchester County as a global destination, empowering local stakeholders to effectively target the international travel market.

Westchester County is within minutes of New York City, a destination that hosts over (13) million international visitors annually.   Removed from the hustle and bustle of New York City, Westchester offers “other world” serenity, natural beauty and small towns whose charm and history have been carefully preserved. Westchester boasts world-class art, scenic vistas, luxury stays, and local farm-to-table dining to satisfy every palate.  Located on the east side of the Hudson River, Westchester’s “river towns” offer seamless access via road, air, and rail.

Historically, because of its proximity to NYC, Westchester attracted the wealthy who chose to live on the “perimeter of the city.”  The Rockefeller family home, Kykuit and Lyndhurst Manor are open for tours, as is the Glenview Historic Home at the Hudson River Museum. Built in 1877, it was featured in “The Gilded Age” HBO series.  Westchester County’s easy access to NYC continues to make it a favorite location for films and TV series.

Alon Tourism Solutions is a leading tourism marketing company with over 25 years of experience in working with the travel trade, training destination marketing organizations, accommodations and attractions how to work with travel agents, tour operators and receptive operators, the B2B engine that drives the global travel market.

Over the period of several months, educational sessions, have been held (in person and online) with hotels, attractions and restaurants, training them in the principles of sales to the travel trade and culminating in one-on-one development of material to be used as sales tools by the travel trade. 

Because “seeing is believing”, the culmination of the training program featured a FAM (FAMiliarization) tour for Travel Trade Buyers who enjoyed visits to several major attractions and dined at iconic area restaurants before enjoying an overnight stay at the beautiful Sonesta Hotel in the heart of downtown White Plains.  Included in the tour were  visits to the aforementioned  Glenview Historic Home at Hudson River Museum,  the Union Church of Pocantico Hills, where the extraordinary stained glass windows commissioned by the Rockefeller family were designed by Henri Matisse (The Rose Window) and Marc Chagall, the Clay Art Center, a community hub for sculpture and pottery classes, and the Faraway Farm Alpaca, an award-winning farm experience featuring Huacaya alpacas that has been operating for over almost (75) years.  A complimentary flight from Wings Air Helicopter on the last morning was the tour’s finale.  Their culinary experiences included lunch at The Sailhouse  an appealing waterfront restaurant offering new-American cuisine and dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse, a popular dining venue that was started over four decades ago by two entrepreneurs and now boasts (65) restaurants in the U.S.

These first-hand experiences will be the catalyst for immediate global interest, and will drive bookings for Westchester County’s accommodations, dining, and attractions.

 For additional information, contact westchestertravel@alontourism.com