The September 11th attack
Tourism industry fights back
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. — This weekend, Gov. Jeb Bush plans to hop on commercial flights to Chicago and Boston and spread a vital message: Come back to the Sunshine State.
In New York, the Niagara Parks Commission has changed gears and is now trying to lure visitors from Toronto and other major metropolitan areas within driving distance.
And Philadelphia is considering creating a $3 million fund to bolster the city's tourism industry.
Faced with the greatest threat ever to its viability, the nation's $582 billion tourism industry is fighting back with advertising campaigns, discounts and appeals to citizens to start traveling again.
The Washington-based Travel Industry Association of America in the next two weeks plans to initiate a $7 million advertising campaign in 20 of the nation's largest newspapers urging Americans to travel. The full-page ad shows a toddler playing in ocean surf under the watchful eyes of his parents.
"After all, America was founded, expanded and made great by travelers. And nobody can take that away from us. Not now. Not ever," the closing text of the advertisement reads.
The ad campaigns can't come soon enough for the tourism industry, hit hard by the swift plunge in airline travel that has followed the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The association hasn't publicly calculated the loss to the tourism industry, but it's substantial considering domestic and international travelers ordinarily spend $1.53 billion a day in the United States.
"The losses will be historic," said Betsy O'Rourke, the association's senior vice president of marketing. "We need to get into recovery mode just as quickly as possible."
In the next few weeks, the group plans to ask the television networks to put together public-service announcements featuring celebrities that urge viewers "to See America."
In the wake of tourism's troubles since the attacks, industry leaders are also calling for the formation of a National Tourism Office, which would use federal money to promote tourism.
The United States is the only industrialized nation that doesn't spend federal money on promoting tourism, an issue brought up by industry leaders during a meeting Tuesday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans.
Around the nation, local tourism officials are taking action on their own.
The Florida Keys is launching newspaper ads that read "They Say We Should All Get Back to Normal."
Las Vegas plans a $13 million ad campaign and Orlando will debut a $6 million campaign. Both campaigns will be aimed at luring visitors within driving distance.
New York City's tourism agency plans to move up its annual "Paint the Town Red" campaign from January to the fall. The campaign, which offers discounts at hotels, restaurants and Broadway shows, also will be renamed "Paint the Town Red, White and Blue."
• On the Web
Travel Industry Association: www.tia.org
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority: www.lasvegasfreedom.com
