What Visit Rochester does

Visit Rochester is the official tourism promotion agency and DMAP-accredited destination marketing organization for Monroe County, New York. Founded in 1932 and operating as a non-profit, the organization functions as the county's primary vehicle for marketing Greater Rochester as a preferred destination for leisure, business, and sports travel. Its core product is a destination marketing platform combining a public-facing website (visitrochester.com), meeting planner RFP submission services, a sports development arm (the Rochester NY Sports Commission, a wholly owned subsidiary), travel trade operator services, and an annual EXPLORE Guide publication. Underlying technology is built on the Simpleview CRM platform, which handles website content management, member communications, and destination marketing operations.

The business model is membership-based, generating recurring revenue from membership dues paid by over 500 member businesses representing local lodging, retail, restaurants, services, and community organizations. The organization serves four primary customer segments: meeting and convention planners booking events at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center; sports event organizers (NCAA, national governing bodies, tournament hosts); leisure travelers seeking vacations, family trips, and culinary or cultural experiences; and travel trade operators developing group itineraries. Distribution is hybrid, combining direct enterprise sales for meetings and sports bidding with public-facing digital marketing across website, social media, email newsletters, press relations, and journalist press trips.

Visit Rochester's value proposition rests on its monopoly position as the county's officially designated tourism promotion agency, its DMAP accreditation from Destinations International, and its I Love NY partnership. The destination it markets includes over 140 annual festivals (including the Rochester International Jazz Festival and Rochester Lilac Festival), 75+ family-friendly attractions within an hour's drive, and a culinary and craft beer scene. Recent strategic wins include co-hosting NCAA Division II and III Women's Lacrosse National Championships and the USA Lacrosse Women's National Tournament, generating nearly $2.3 million in economic impact per major weekend, and contributing to Monroe County's documented $1.5 billion in annual visitor spending, 18,000+ supported jobs, and $180.1 million in state and local tax revenue.

Name

Visit Rochester

Legal name

Visit Rochester

Website

https://visitrochester.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Visit Rochester is the official DMAP-accredited tourism promotion agency for Monroe County, New York, marketing Greater Rochester as a leisure, meetings, and sports destination through a membership-based platform serving 500+ local hospitality businesses, meeting planners, sports event organizers, and leisure travelers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural & Community Festivals (Ticketed) (THAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Destination marketing organization
• Tourism promotion services
• Convention bureau sales
• Sports commission recruitment
• Visitor information services

Headquarters

HQ city

Rochester

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Visit Rochester is a membership-based organization with over 500 members representing local lodging, retail, restaurants, services, and community organizations that pay dues to be part of the organization and receive promotional benefits.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Visit Rochester is the official destination marketing organization for Monroe County, New York. It sells and delivers tourism promotion services including meeting and convention sales support, sports event recruitment, travel trade coordination, and visitor information. Its core customers are meeting planners, sports event organizers, travel trade buyers, and leisure travelers, funded by a membership of more than 500 local hospitality and attraction businesses.

Product overview

Visit Rochester operates as the official tourism promotion agency for Monroe County, functioning as a destination marketing platform and membership-based organization. The core offering is a comprehensive tourism platform that markets Greater Rochester as a preferred travel destination. The product portfolio includes the main Visit Rochester Tourism Platform for destination promotion, Meeting Planner Services for convention coordination, the Sports Commission for sports tourism development, Travel Trade services for tour operators, and a Membership Program representing over 400 local businesses. Supporting offerings include visitor guides (Explore Guide), trip planning tools, and the Rochester Rising initiative for economic development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rochester NY Sports Commission: The sports development arm of Visit Rochester that works to attract sporting events to Monroe County and drive the economic impact of sports tourism in the community.

Products and services

• Meeting Planner Services Free sales and support services for meeting and conference planners, including RFP submission, hotel block coordination, destination collateral, site visit assistance, and a printed Rochester Meeting Planner Guide. Target user: corporate, association, and third-party meeting planners.
• Greater Rochester Sports Commission Dedicated sports event recruitment and hosting service for rights holders, tournament organizers, and governing bodies. Provides venue assessments, bid support, hotel block coordination, and local liaison for amateur, youth, collegiate, and professional events.
• Travel Trade Services Destination support for tour operators, travel agents, and travel media, including FAM tours, itinerary planning, supplier connections, and editorial support. Target user: domestic and international travel trade buyers.
• Visit Rochester Website and Trip Planning Tools Official destination website (visitrochester.com) offering visitor information, attractions, events, lodging, dining, and trip planning tools, including a mobile app and Explore Guide. Target user: leisure travelers, meeting planners, and travel trade.
• Downtown Rochester Visitor Center Walk-in visitor center providing in-person trip planning, brochures, maps, and local recommendations for visitors to Rochester and Monroe County.
• Visit Rochester Membership Program Annual membership program for Rochester and Monroe County hospitality businesses, attractions, venues, and service providers, offering leads, cooperative promotion, partner portal access, and inclusion in destination marketing.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly $1.5 billion in annual visitor spending
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Destinations InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Visit Rochester holds DMAP (Destination Marketing Accreditation Program) accreditation from Destinations International, the global trade association for official tourism marketing organizations.
• I Love NYcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerVisit Rochester is a partner of I Love NY, New York State's official tourism marketing program, providing access to statewide tourism promotion resources and cross-promotional opportunities.
• Rochester NY Sports CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Rochester NY Sports Commission is the sports development arm of Visit Rochester and Monroe County, working to attract sporting events and drive economic impact of sports tourism in the community.
• RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRIT serves as co-host for NCAA Division II and III Women's Lacrosse National Championships at Judson Stadium, partnering with Visit Rochester for major sports events.
• SUNY BrockportmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSUNY Brockport hosts the USA Lacrosse Women's National Tournament, working with Visit Rochester and Rochester NY Sports Commission for event logistics.
• SimpleviewcoreTechnology or IntegrationVisit Rochester's website and CRM operations are powered by Simpleview, a destination marketing technology platform providing website, content management, and member relationship tools.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NYC & Company: Official destination marketing organization for New York City. Comparable in mission (promoting a New York destination for leisure and meetings) but materially larger in budget and headcount, serving as the high-end benchmark for the same state.
• Visit Orlando: Large destination marketing organization for Orlando with a major convention sales operation and sports commission. Comparable in CVB structure but operates at significantly greater scale across leisure and meetings tourism.
• Destination DC: Official destination marketing organization for Washington, D.C. Comparable as an accredited CVB driving leisure and meetings/conventions tourism with a larger team and broader budget, illustrating the upper end of the DMO peer set.

Regional players

• Visit Buffalo Niagara: Regional DMO for the Buffalo/Niagara region of New York. Comparable to Visit Rochester as a New York State destination marketing organization serving a mid-sized metro with a similar mix of leisure, meeting, and sports tourism promotion.
• Visit Syracuse: Tourism promotion agency for Syracuse and Onondaga County, NY. Comparable as a mid-sized New York State DMO operating meeting planner services, sports commission-style event attraction, and membership-based member dues funding.
• Explore Finger Lakes: Regional tourism promotion organization for the Finger Lakes region of New York, with which Visit Rochester partners as the metro gateway. Comparable destination marketing function focused on leisure travel and event promotion in Upstate NY.

Others

• Destinations International: Global trade association for official destination marketing organizations that administers Visit Rochester's DMAP accreditation. Comparable as the industry body governing DMOs and providing peer benchmarking, training, and advocacy.
• Simpleview: Technology vendor powering Visit Rochester's CRM, website, and destination marketing operations. Comparable as a key ecosystem enabler for DMOs, supplying the platform layer used across the destination marketing organization industry.

Direct peers

• Greater Toronto Area Tourism Alliance: Regional destination marketing organization promoting Greater Toronto. Comparable as a mid-to-large DMO running meeting planner, sports, and travel trade services—relevant since Visit Rochester explicitly markets to Canadian visitors.
• Visit Tampa Bay: Mid-sized regional DMO promoting Tampa Bay as a destination for leisure, conventions, and sports events. Closely comparable in business model: membership-based DMO running meeting sales, sports commission, and travel trade services.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/VisitRochester
• Xx.com/visitrochester
• Facebookfacebook.com/VisitRochester
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/visitrochester

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit Rochester