Albany, NY - This week, four students who won a social media contest in China will be enjoying their grand prize-a tour of New York State, with stops across the Capital Region.
In 2015, I Love NY China cooperated with qyer.com, one of China's largest user-generated-content platforms to launch "Youth Plan × Discover NYS," a campaign designed to promote study tours in NYS, by leveraging the growing online marketing channels. The contest quickly took off, reaching millions of students who were in the process of making plans for study abroad.
Finalists were selected based upon the quality of their entries, and four winners were announced in January 2016: Mr. Wang Li, from Jiangxi Normal University, Ms. Fan Jingyi, Communication University of China, Mr. Wu Kaisi, Law School of South China University of Technology, and Ms. Zhao Mengying, Beijing Technology and Business University. Sponsored by the Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau and I Love NY, the trip will give the students access to New York's college campuses, and invite them to enjoy the experiences of studying abroad.
The students will arrive in Albany on April 13 to visit University at Albany, Albany Law, Albany Medical College and Albany College of Pharmacy, as well as Empire State Plaza, and the New York State Capitol. While in the Capital Region, they will also meet with students and professors at RPI and Sage College. The group will be lead locally by Janet Carmosky and Dawn Chen, from Market Force China.
"Market Force China has been working with New York State's Division of Tourism to help New York tourism businesses be China-Ready for several years," Carmosky says. In partnership with ILNY, Market Force China's David Turchetti conducted a series of China Ready workshops in Albany and other cities in the summer of 2014. In 2015, they helped with the development of the NY College Towns brand, which captures the appeal of upstate New York for Chinese families. "We wanted to communicate the message that upstate New York has outstanding colleges, schools, and strong overall quality of life," says Carmosky. "We're looking forward to hosting this group of students and introducing them to the wonderful quality of life college students enjoy here."
Interested press may contact Molly Belmont (518) 434-1217, ext. 203 for a full itinerary or to arrange follow-up interviews.
About the ACCVB
The Albany County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. was established in 1976 to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community through increased development of conventions and tourism. ACCVB currently represents more than 300 member businesses and assists each year in hundreds of regional meetings. ACCVB also operates the Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center, Henry Hudson Planetarium, and the Albany International Airport Information Center. For more information, call 518-434-1217 or 800-258-3582 or visit www.albany.org.