2017 is shaping up to be a year of new opportunities and enhanced partnerships that will surely strengthen all of our tourism marketing efforts!
For example, we’re continuing to hold outreach meetings, which have drawn enthusiastic participation all across the state. That feedback has already helped shape our new Regional Marketing Program. If you missed my recent email about this program, you can see it here.
We’re also finalizing this spring/summer’s marketing plan, building on the success of last year’s campaign. Thanks in large part to the updates and photos you shared with us, we were able to feature thousands of partners in our digital marketing, website articles, social media posts and PR pitches — driving a record 4.2 million visits to CTvisit.com.
We look forward to working even more closely with you this year to drive increased interest in visiting Connecticut!
Mark Your Calendar for May 4th
Registration is now open! You definitely won’t want to miss this year’s Connecticut Governor’s Conference on Tourism — the state’s largest gathering of tourism professionals from every aspect of the industry. The conference is set for Thursday, May 4, 2017 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
We’re thrilled that Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mohegan Sun and Waterford Hotels have already signed on again as Platinum Sponsors. Just let us know if you’d like more information on how you can become a sponsor or an exhibitor.
If you offer events, make sure to list them on CTvisit.com! More than one out of every seven visitors to our website visits the Events section of our state’s tourism website. And partners linked to more events drive more click-throughs from our site to theirs.
Events for spring/summer are especially important to add now, as visitors and residents alike are starting to make their spring break and summer vacation plans. Need help learning how to enter your events? Just contact jean.hebert@ct.gov.
Want to meet directly with tour operators who arrange trips for tens of thousands of international and US travelers each year? Then make plans to attend the Discover New England Tourism Summit & International Marketplace.
The only New England travel trade event of its kind, this summit is coming up this April 22-24 at the Omni Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. But sign up by February 24th — to benefit from the early-bird savings.
PR Program Getting Major Hits for Tourism Partners
They’re definitely talking about us…thanks in part to the Office of Tourism’s active, ongoing PR outreach.
Recently, Vogue said Litchfield County was the “perfect weekend getaway.” Travel + Leisure ranked Washington among the nation’s top 7 must-see small towns. The Boston Globe highlighted the spa at Foxwoods. The Irish Times touted the “delightful” Mark Twain house, the “stunning” Yale Center for British Art and the “great interactive museum” of the Mashantucket Pequot, just to name a few recent PR mentions.
The Connecticut Office of Tourism recently met with Rachel Hannas-Metz, Sales Manager of NASKART and Trampoline Place in Montville — now the world’s largest indoor go-karting facility. This was one of many site visits the Office of Tourism conducted this month sharing ways to leverage the state’s no-cost marketing programs.
This 8,000 sq. ft. facility features a trampoline park, dodge ball, party rooms and more — a great place for parties and events. Thanks, NASKART team, for inviting us to visit! We look forward to partnering with you to promote your terrific new offering.
Contact the Connecticut Office of Tourism team to discuss how we can work together to magnify what you’re doing to market your offering!
Are you taking advantage of all the no-cost marketing opportunities available to you through the Office of Tourism?
For example, have you created your own free listing page onCTvisit? Have you added your events and deals to the site — a key to driving more traffic to your listing? Do you send us your news so we can help promote it through our social sites and PR outreach? These are just a few of the ways you can partner with the Office of Tourism to promote your offering. We’re eager to help you make the most of all these opportunities!
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