Liberty, NY (May 21, 2025) – The Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association (SCVA) is proud to announce an inclusive shift in its membership structure, an initiative designed to elevate the Sullivan Catskills region in its entirety and fully represent the diverse businesses and organizations that define our community. As each business’ current membership year concludes, the SCVA will officially phase out its traditional paid membership model and introduce a free membership for all businesses within the region.

This change will be pivotal to the SCVA’s continued mission to support tourism-driven economic growth while fostering greater equity, collaboration, and representation. Under the new model, all businesses that sign up for the free membership will remain integrated into the SCVA’s marketing efforts, including listings in the official Sullivan Catskills Travel Guide and on the organization’s website.

The SCVA aims to encourage broader participation and ensure that everyone—from longstanding tourism staples to new businesses—has the opportunity to benefit from and contribute to the Sullivan Catskills brand.

“With dedicated public funding now in place, we believe it’s time to evolve our approach” explains President and CEO of the SCVA, Michael Martelon. “Transitioning to a free membership model allows us to better serve the entire business community without the constraints of transactional expectations. This change reflects our commitment to servant leadership—removing barriers, fostering inclusion, and focusing our efforts on lifting the region as a whole.”

While the core membership will now be free, the SCVA is in the process of developing a series of enhanced collaborative opportunities. These will include supporter tiers and additional ways for businesses to engage more deeply with the region’s promotional efforts.

“Also, over the course of this year, we’ll be working on developing a suite of data products and insights—in partnership with leaders like Key Data Dashboard and Datafy—not to generate profit, but to break even and reinvest in what matters most: raising awareness for the Sullivan Catskills brand” says Martelon. “By offering access to these powerful tools at nominal monthly fee, we’re helping local businesses understand the tourism landscape more deeply and make smarter, more strategic decisions that benefit our entire community.”The SCVA looks forward to sharing updates as this transition is underway.

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Contact:  

Skylar Strauss- sis@scva.net