Tourism industry fights back

Mike Schneider

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 9:52 a.m.

In Nevada

Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt created a "Tourism Stability Task Force," saying she wants it to "confront and counteract the far-reaching, drastic economic impacts of the Sept. 11 attack."

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush plans to hop on commercial flights to Chicago and Boston this weekend 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."

Consumers are being polled to gauge fears and intentions to travel and the association has even posted a sample "letter to the editor" on its Web site for tourism leaders to send to their hometown newspapers, reminding readers that "travel is one of our most fundamental freedoms."

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.

"The problem with this industry isn't just a local problem, it's a national problem," U.S. Housing Secretary Mel Martinez said after meeting with Orlando tourism officials this week.

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 is refining its ad campaign for the new circumstances 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."

"I encourage people from all over the country who want to help, I have a great way of helping: Come here and spend money," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said in a statement released by the tourism agency, NYC & Company.

The current circumstances are forcing Colorado ski resorts to share information they used to keep secret, said David Perry, president and chief executive of Colorado Ski Country USA in Denver, a ski resort trade group.

"In the past, the top priority may have been to beat your competition," Perry said. "Now it's to band together to ensure that we all survive."