Balancing the Bases: How Cooperstown Welcomes the World While Supporting Its Community

By: Kyle Huff

| Updated Sep 03, 2025

Explore how Cooperstown, New York, balances booming summer tourism with thoughtful, community-first strategies that support local businesses, residents, and quality of life.

Each summer, the Village of Cooperstown, New York — with a population of 1,700 — plays host to hundreds of thousands of visitors drawn to its baseball legacy. Between the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Induction Weekend and a weekly influx of youth baseball teams and their families, the region transforms into a vibrant, visitor-driven hub. But managing that surge while protecting the quality of life for locals is a delicate balance — one that Destination Marketing Corporation (DMC), the organization behind This is Cooperstown, navigates with intention.

To better understand how they strike that balance, we spoke with Cassandra Harrington, President & CEO of DMC, about the creative, community-first solutions her team has introduced to ensure tourism supports the people who call Cooperstown home.

Making Summer Crowds More Predictable

In peak season, nearly 200 youth baseball teams arrive in Cooperstown and the surrounding area each week. This steady rotation — with one group departing and another arriving every sixth day — creates a weekly “changeover day” that locals quickly learn to navigate. But after gathering community feedback through a resident sentiment survey, DMC discovered that traffic was one of the biggest concerns.

Rather than ignore it, they addressed it head-on.

DMC launched a Changeover Hub as part of their We Go Otsego community site, which outlines which days will be busiest for travel in and out of the village. With the calendar in place, information that was previously buried within tournament websites is made easily accessible to all members of the community.

This added visibility has been well received by locals and shows how even small resources can have outsized community impact.

“We certainly can’t build more roads, but we can do our best to manage expectations among residents,” Harrington said, mentioning that the resource allows locals to take ownership themselves when it comes to tracking traffic conditions.

Printed and digital assets created and distributed by DMC's We Go Otsego community-focused brand helped local residents navigate busy roadways during baseball tournament season.

Local Resources, Not Just Visitor Tools

DMC’s commitment to locals isn’t limited to seasonal traffic updates. Their We Go Otsego platform also highlights resources for new residents, local businesses, and event organizers. By positioning themselves as a go-to partner, DMC is reinforcing that a strong visitor economy should benefit the people who live there, too.

And while We Go Otsego feels like a grassroots community hub, it’s powered by the same technical infrastructure and strategic marketing insight DMC uses to promote the destination to the world.

“Destination Organizations are uniquely positioned to communicate with the masses by sourcing the tools and the technical prowess used to attract visitors, and we're applying it to the benefit of the community,” Cassandra said. “We've already got the skill set — it's just a matter of determining which local channels are most effective.”

That DMO-level expertise — from content development to user experience — is being redirected to serve locals just as thoughtfully as visitors.

A window cling developed by This Is Cooperstown welcomes Japanese visitors with translated information, a 24-hour concierge QR code, and a link to the destination’s website — part of a broader effort to equip local businesses for international guests.

Speaking the Language of Hospitality

When Japanese-born baseball great Ichiro Suzuki was selected for induction into the Hall of Fame in 2025, DMC anticipated an increase in Japanese visitors. But rather than solely creating visitor-facing marketing, DMC focused on helping local businesses in their rural destination prepare.

They developed Japanese-language brochures and web pages, created lists of common greetings for frontline hospitality workers, and distributed those tools well in advance. The most in-demand item for local businesses? Window clings — produced and distributed by This Is Cooperstown — with an easy-to-scan QR code that linked to the Japanese language landing page.

By investing in cultural readiness, DMC helped ensure that local businesses weren’t just open for Japanese fans, they were ready to welcome them with intention.

Tourism as a Tool for Talent Recruitment

DMC’s community-minded thinking isn’t limited to seasonal sporting events. When a local hospital was struggling to attract and retain staff, the team saw an opportunity to help.

“I learned that the hospital was creating resources that showcase our quality of place,” Harrington explained. “We said, ‘Well, why reinvent the wheel?’ We’re contracted by the County to create materials used to recruit visitors. The same promotional materials could very easily spur visits by recruits.”

Rather than simply handing over a visitor guide, they built a long-term partnership — integrating This Is Cooperstown’s event calendars and inspiration guides into the hospital’s onboarding materials. These resources help prospective staff and their families envision not just a job, but a lifestyle in Cooperstown.

Everything a destination organization does has the potential to improve the lives of those around us — I can’t think of a better motivator.

Cassandra HarringtonPresident & CEO, Destination Marketing Corporation

Keeping the Focus on Community

That commitment shows up in creative ways — like when DMC partnered with environmentalists to share education around algae blooms, using their storytelling channels to support both environmental awareness and public health for residents and visitors of the lakeside community. It's a small example of a larger truth: the tools of a destination organization can serve the community far beyond the visitor economy.

“Team DMC loves coming to work. Everything a destination organization does has the potential to improve the lives of those around us — I can’t think of a better motivator,” she says.

By listening closely to resident concerns, preparing businesses to thrive, and forging creative partnerships, DMC is proving that tourism doesn’t have to be a trade-off — it can be a shared success story.

Additional Resources

Destination Effect Stories Explore a series of case studies that demonstrate how destination organizations across the globe are positively… Learn More

Research Use these impactful research reports to connect the dots on how destination organizations help your community… Learn More

What is a Destination Organization? In today's globalized, interconnected world, every community must compete for its share of the world's visibility… Learn More

Destination Effect Blogs Review a collection of insights and interviews focusing on community activation and improvement strategies being pursued… Learn More

Author

Kyle Huff

Director of Growth Marketing, Tempest

Kyle Huff is Tempest’s Director of Growth Marketing, where he oversees the company’s efforts to enhance the visibility, engagement, and growth of destination partners through forward-thinking SEO, creative storytelling, and performance marketing techniques. Before joining Tempest, Kyle served as the Content Manager for the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, where he promoted the city of Philadelphia to a global audience of meeting professionals, event planners, and international visitors.

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