Our people, our culture, and our [food/natural beauty/sports team/other source of local pride] make [destination] a place that residents are proud to call home. But they also make [destination] a place that others want to come and visit, bringing dollars that grow our tax base and create jobs. Travelers directly support [] supports [] in [our state] alone. These dollars fuel our local businesses and vital public services, improving the quality of life for residents. Strong public investment in marketing of [destination]’s brand is what makes all these benefits possible. However, some of our lawmakers are questioning the value of this travel promotion, and making moves to [cut, eliminate, alter] the resources available for this vital function. Many of our citizens are well aware of the power of travel in [state], [destination], or even their communities and neighborhoods. But they deserve to know what kind of return they get when our [local/state] government invests in travel and tourism promotion. what happens when a destination decides to invest more in To start, let’s look at promoting themselves both domestically and internationally. Nashville, TN, has long been a mecca for music lovers worldwide, but did you know that its “Music moniker is a fairly recent development? Just over ten years ago, the city City” made a commitment to building a strong, authentic and identifiable “Music City” brand through consistent investment in travel promotion. The move has yielded significant results. Promotion of sites like the new Music City Center has helped attract more than $1 billion in new development to of Nashville’s SoBro (South Broadway) neighborhood, plus $5 billion in annual visitor spending, and directly supported 58,000 jobs, according to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation. that benefit from effective destination marketing, either. It’s not just major cities The has driven an economic revival in the Lake Erie “Lake Erie Love” campaign Shores & Islands region of Michigan, generating $151 million in visitor spending, according to a the area welcomes more Longwood’s International study. Today, than nine million visitors each year, making the region one of the most popular in the Midwest. On the flip side, there are immediate and severe consequences for states and regions that cut their tourism marketing budgets. In Connecticut, travel revenue growth slowed to just half the pace it achieved during the deep recession years of 2009-2010 after the state eliminated its tourism office. Even Connecticut’s
Our people, our culture, and our [food/natural beauty/sports team/other source of local pride] make [destination] a place that residents are proud to call home. But they also make [destination] a place that others want to come and visit, bringing dollars that grow our tax base and create jobs. Travelers directly support [] supports [] in [our state] alone. These dollars fuel our local businesses and vital public services, improving the quality of life for residents. Strong public investment in marketing [destination]’s brand is what makes all of these benefits possible. However, some of our lawmakers are questioning the value of this travel promotion, and making moves to [cut, eliminate, alter] the resources available for this vital function. Many of our citizens are well aware of the power of travel in [state], [destination], or even their communities and neighborhoods. But they deserve to know what kind of return they get when our [local/state] government invests in travel and tourism promotion. To start, let’s look at what happens when a destination decides to invest more in promoting themselves both domestically and internationally. Nashville, TN, has long been a mecca for music lovers worldwide, but did you know that its “Music City” moniker is a fairly recent development? Just over ten years ago, the city made a commitment to building a strong, authentic and identifiable “Music City” brand through consistent investment in travel promotion. The move has yielded significant results. Promotion of sites like the new Music City Center has helped attract more than $1 billion in new development to Nashville’s SoBro (South of Broadway) neighborhood, plus $5 billion in annual visitor spending, and directly supported 58,000 jobs, according to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation. It’s not just major cities that benefit from effective destination marketing, either. The “Lake Erie Love” campaign has driven an economic revival in the Lake Erie Shores & Islands region of Michigan, generating $151 million in visitor spending, according to a Longwood’s International study. Today, the area welcomes more than nine million visitors each year, making the region one of the most popular in the Midwest. On the flip side, there are immediate and severe consequences for states and regions that cut their tourism marketing budgets. In Connecticut, travel revenue growth slowed to just half the pace it achieved during the deep recession years of 2009-2010 after the state eliminated its tourism office. Even Connecticut’s
POTP_Sample_Op-ed_2017.docx