The Connecticut Office of Tourism is launching a regional marketing program designed to expand its partnerships with organizations from every region of the state committed to promoting tourism.
Feedback gathered during the Office of Tourism”™s recent listening tour ”” where state tourism officials met with hundreds of leaders from tourism/cultural businesses, associations, chambers of commerce, councils of governments, arts and history coalitions and towns/cities from all across the state ”” helped to inform the new initiative.
The program”™s mission is to work even more closely with regional organizations to help tourism-related businesses capitalize on the state”™s existing array of marketing initiatives, which support Connecticut”™s $14 billion tourism industry.
More than 15 organizations have joined the partnership so far, including the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Northeastern Connecticut Council of Governments, Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce, Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, Capitol Region Council of Governments, MetroHartford Alliance, Connecticut Lodging Association, Waterbury Regional Chamber, City of Norwalk, Madison Chamber of Commerce, Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce, Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, The Business Council of Fairfield County, Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Connecticut League of History Organizations, and Connecticut Humanities.
The Office of Tourism is also continuing to reach out to create partnerships with additional organizations across the state.
Among the regional marketing program”™s priorities are optimizing, at no cost, partner organizations”™ listing page on CTvisit.com, which attracted 4.2 million visitors last year; developing story ideas that can be integrated into the COT”™s in-state, regional, national and international public relations outreach; gathering stories and imagery for the website and the state”™s digital marketing program as well as its tourism e-newsletter, which reaches 250,000 consumers each month; and suggesting destinations in the state to promote to international travel and group tour operators.
“Together we’re focused on driving more tourism business to each of our regions ”” by eliminating costly duplication of efforts while maximizing our collective clout when pitching to the media, sharing on social media and negotiating for advertising,” said Connecticut Office of Tourism Director Randy Fiveash.
With all due respect to the state of CT’s hopeful but doomed tourism effort, there’s no way they can make up what is lost by defunding the regional tourism bureaus and the professionals who have been marketing the region – and ALL of its tourism related components – nationally and internationally, for the benefit of both for-profit and non-profits for more than 20 years and at no cost to their constituents. We know this because the state has tried centralization before and satisfied neither constituents nor would-be visitors.
May rational minds with an eye to increasing state revenues prevail.