Promotion of the Hudson Valley as a tourist attraction this year is an exercise in doing a lot with a little ”“ and working together to get the most out of what you have.
“Our budget is very modest, we have no broadcast this year, we have $300,000 for the entire campaign, which is mostly print,” said Natasha Caputo, director of the Westchester County Office of Tourism and Film. “”˜Meet Me in Westchester”™ is the overall brand, then we”™ll plan thematic and seasonal promotions around that. Those campaigns are in development now, fall foliage activities, Sleepy Hollow outdoor activities. This will evolve and grow and give us a chance to promote Westchester in a very strategic way to communicate our offerings.”
The key word is strategic, especially considering the budget. The Westchester campaign began July 1, targeted at an area 100 miles from a point in the center of the county. “We”™re being very focused, 100 miles is very focused, we”™re not going national, not going 250 miles out,” Caputo said. The idea is to sell Westchester as a 90-minute ride away, a short getaway for a day trip or a one-night stay.
And utilizing what other counties have to offer in order to do it. “Our itineraries and events are part of Hudson Valley itineraries and events,” said Caputo, referring travelers to the website travelhudsonvalley.org. “Hudson Valley tourism allows us to focus on the area”™s natural resources, farm-to-table restaurants, by putting together itineraries that combine counties. Take a day trip to Westchester, then follow the river,” she said.
Follow it up to Dutchess County and you”™ll find Mary Kay Vrba, the executive director of Dutchess County tourism, who has twice the promotion budget for this year as her Westchester counterpart ”“ $600,000. But she says that”™s still not enough to do everything she would like. “I”™d like to do more in social media marketing, more in trade shows and more in print and radio. As for social media ”“ we have a Facebook page for Dutchess and the region, we also, for the region, have a downloadable app for iPhones for the county, but I”™d love to do more with other digital areas like Pinterest, for example.”
The regional budget is about $110,000 for 2012,“and that is primarily based on I Love NY matching funds, but that was cut at the state level so less comes into the regions,” she said.
Like Caputo, Vrba emphasized the importance of tying the counties together for promotional purposes. “It all fits together, each county plays a part in getting the message together to develop the product and then we promote that,” she said. “For example, we might pick the top five destinations in each theme, then they get put on the regional website. Then there”™s a link to the county site. There”™ll be a garden itinerary ”“ go to Stonecrop Gardens in Putnam, then make your way to Innisfree in Dutchess, then cross over to Mohonk Mountain House in Ulster. Or a bike tour ”“ the Hudson Valley Pedal starts in Albany, it”™s a weeklong trip to New York City. Pedal to Hyde Park, you can see FDR”™s home, then stay in Putnam, cross over the Bear Mountain Bridge, stay in Rockland then head for the city,” she said, outlining some possibilities.
And apparently, it”™s working. “Tourism has weathered the downturn,” said Vrba. “It”™s been an area of growth in job development and dollars spent. Four in 12 Americans live within a four-hour ride of the Hudson Valley. Especially in these times, people are staying closer to home,” she said. Tourism not only is a business, it draws business, she said. “When a person travels here and enjoys the arts, the food, the outdoors and history, they think about moving here and bringing in business as well. In 2011, $467 million was spent in the county on tourism and it created 8,700 jobs.”
Caputo says the same research that resulted in the Westchester campaign informed them of some weak spots in their promotional efforts. “We need to do a better job of informing people of what is available. People say they”™ve heard of it, they”™ve been there, but we want to make it enough of a memorable experience that they will recommend it to others and return themselves.”
