Commerce RI back at tourism promotional work, focus on close-by visitors

PROVIDENCE — After announcing, then dropping a statewide tourism slogan, the R.I. Commerce Corp. picked up where it left off, moving forward Monday with a campaign to better define and promote the state to potential visitors.

The Commerce RI board reviewed a staff update of the continuing tourism marketing campaign, which described in greater detail which visitors the state will try to target, and the methods for attracting them.

According to research, the state believes its best opportunity for attracting more tourists for longer stays is to target people who travel a relatively short distance to the Ocean State.

Referred to marketers as “Nearcationers,” these travelers can come from as far away as Philadelphia and as close as Boston, according to Darin Early, the Commerce RI COO.

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About 68 percent of personal travelers to Rhode Island are “day-trippers,” while another 32 percent make overnight stays, he said.

The efforts to promote Rhode Island took a hit last month after the state’s initial unveiling of a new tourism slogan and logo were widely rebuffed by Rhode Islanders, in part because the promotional video and state website that accompanied the launch were riddled with errors.

The failed launch was not mentioned specifically in the Commerce RI meeting Monday. Instead board members and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, who presided, focused on the months ahead.

Tourism as an industry accounts for $2.5 billion in economic value to Rhode Island, according to Early. It is responsible for 40,000 jobs and as such, represents about 10 percent of the private-sector workforce.

At $5 million, the state’s investment in a coordinated tourism promotion campaign is considered small, but it is the largest investment made by the state in tourism promotion in years. About half of the money has been spent, according to Commerce RI documents, on research activities, branding efforts, and paid social media and digital and print media advertising. Some of those purchases include the “Why RI” video that aired in March on CNN’s airport network in 45 cities, and on Bloomberg TV during the Charlie Rose show. In coming months, the state will launch a more coordinated social media campaign, including video of visitors explaining where they went and what they did, which will be promoted through a statewide tour.

The dollars spent in creating and promoting an identity to out-of-state visitors will be rewarded, Early said. “The more you put through the machine, the bigger your yield is going to be,” he said.

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