--- description: "Please come back when things thaw out" title: Ithaca, New York's Tourism Board Gives Up image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d930a7d4545d88/69877fa5e53abac1e54d7a0b/530070591.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [States](/tag/states/) ## States Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ithaca, New York's Tourism Board Gives Up, Invites Visitors to Head to Florida Instead by [Alex Heigl / People](/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2015 3:07 AM CUT  USA, Florida, Miami Beach, South Pointe Beach USA, Florida, Miami Beach, South Pointe BeachWestend61/Getty Images by [Alex Heigl / People](/author/people/) ## Alex Heigl / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2015 3:07 AM CUT At least one organization has a sense of humor about the wave of cold, snowy weather ravaging New York: The Ithaca, New York, tourism board. Visitors to [VisitIthaca.com](http://www.visitithaca.com/ "undefined") this week were greeted with a pop-up on the site that encouraged them to flee to warmer climates. “Due to this ridiculously stupid winter, Ithaca invites you to visit the Florida Keys this week,” it read. “Please come back when things thaw out. Really, it’s for the birds here now.” (Ithaca’s tourism info desk confirmed to PEOPLE the pop-up was not a hoax.) This may be less of a cheeky joke and more of a public service: It’s expected to reach -4 degrees in Ithaca on Friday. At those temperatures, we’re not even sure a place can be considered for the birds. Florida’s tourism board even got in on the action: > [](https://twitter.com/CNNBrian/status/567377014869725184) [_This article first appeared on People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/ithaca-new-york-florida-tourism "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3712835/ithaca-new-yorks-tourism-board-gives-up-invites-visitors-to-head-to-florida-instead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3712835/ithaca-new-yorks-tourism-board-gives-up-invites-visitors-to-head-to-florida-instead/"},"headline":"Ithaca, New York's Tourism Board Gives Up, Invites Visitors to Head to Florida Instead","datePublished":"2015-02-18T03:07:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:29:58.168Z","description":"\"Please come back when things thaw out\"","url":"https://time.com/3712835/ithaca-new-yorks-tourism-board-gives-up-invites-visitors-to-head-to-florida-instead/","keywords":["States"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d930a7d4545d88/69877fa5e53abac1e54d7a0b/530070591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Heigl / People"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d930a7d4545d88/69877fa5e53abac1e54d7a0b/530070591.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USA, Florida, Miami Beach, South Pointe Beach","caption":"South Pointe Beach, Miami, Fla.","creditText":"Westend61/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/states/","name":"States"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3712835/ithaca-new-yorks-tourism-board-gives-up-invites-visitors-to-head-to-florida-instead/","name":"Ithaca, New York's Tourism Board Gives Up, Invites Visitors to Head to Florida Instead"}}]}] ```