When Rhode Island’s tourism industry launches its promotional campaign every spring, the state’s beaches and waterways, of course, take center stage in the marketing plan.
But with winter approaching, tourism officials are going through the annual retooling of their message. Beaches are out. The holidays are in.
And while the cold, dark months of November and December are typically some of the slowest in terms of the number of visiting tourists, the marketing of holiday events is taking on more importance this year.
Providence-area hotels have long relied on business travelers to fill at least some of the void in the off-season, when room occupancy rates take a nosedive. But the recession has left many businesspeople at home.
“Hotels have long gone after the business market,” said Mark Brodeur, director of the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) tourism division. “But business travel has fallen off, and now they’re going after the leisure market.”
Local tourism and hospitality groups are already gearing up.
For third year, the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched its “Providence for the Holidays” Web site – www.goprovidence.com/holidays – a listing of events, promotional packages and discounts.
Early entries include the Renaissance Providence Hotel, which is offering a “stress-free holiday shopping package” that includes a $20 gift card to Providence Place mall down the street.
In Warwick, the Radisson Hotel will woo holiday guests with a freshly baked apple pie, or gingerbread house that guests can decorate with icing and other trimmings.
The Web’s role in tourism marketing has become indispensable in recent years.
Brodeur said the EDC’s tourism division is rolling out new online technology just in time for the holidays.
This year, Brodeur said the division’s Web site – www.visitrhodeisland.com – will feature a comprehensive listing of events, particularly arts-related activities, automatically culled from the R.I. State Council on the Arts.
In addition, the site will have a coupon utility that will allow the 75,000 to 150,000 monthly visitors to the tourism division’s Web site to view and print out discounts from local businesses that can fill out online applications to offer those discounts.
“It’s the best way to allow business to get the message directly to the consumers,” Brodeur said.
He was scheduled to meet with the seven regional tourism councils to gauge their interest in “syndicating” those features for free on their Web sites. For instance, event listings from the Rhode Island tourism site would be automatically customized for regional tourism sites.
“This will give them the ability to offer it but not have to manage it,” Brodeur said.
EDC spokeswoman Melissa Chambers said the tourism division is throwing its support behind more than 100 winter events.
And the holiday tourism efforts go far beyond Providence.
Newport officials are readying the annual Christmas in Newport campaign, a series of events that play up the city’s heritage and one-of-a-kind shops and historic atmosphere.
Evan Smith, president and CEO of the Newport County Convention & Visitors Bureau, says his group reaches out to potential visitors as far away as New York and New Jersey with the message that Newport County offers a different holiday shopping experience.
“We’re not a mall destination,” Smith said. “It’s about streetscapes, about enjoying the beauty of the city at a less crowded time.”
“The holiday can be a stressful time,” he added. “This is a great place to de-stress.”
In northern Rhode Island, the Polar Express remains the centerpiece of the season’s activities and a strong revenue generator for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council.
The 90-minute train ride through Cumberland into Woonsocket – endorsed by “Polar Express” author and Providence resident Chris Van Allsburg – has proved so popular, more dates have been added to the schedule in recent years.
This off-season, the tourism council is adding a new holiday-related event, something that builds on the state’s “staycation” campaign earlier this year: Tour Your Own Backyard.
The bus tour on Nov. 14 will stop at locations such as Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket and Gigi’s Global Specialty Art and Gifts in Woonsocket for artisan demonstrations and shopping.
“We’re trying to introduce people to things off the beaten path,” explained Lesley McLaughlin, the council’s tourism coordinator. “These are the places where people say they’ll go one day; we want to take them there.”
At a time when off-season tourism is taking on greater importance, the economic downturn has put the squeeze on the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau’s marketing budget.
But Jessica Caparco, the bureau’s marketing manager, said Webster Bank has stepped in to provide financial assistance and agreed to place promotional material in the local bank branches.
That has allowed the bureau to launch an advertising campaign in the Boston area, going after those who would stay in Providence overnight or over a weekend to enjoy shopping and the local restaurants.
“Providence is much easier to get in and out of,” said Kristen Adamo, the bureau’s vice president of marketing and communication.
Now the Rhode Island Hospitality Association is poised to give a holiday boost to local eateries.
Dale Venturini, the association’s president and CEO, said the group recently launched its RI Dine card, which will allow diners to buy a gift card that will be accepted in numerous Rhode Island locations. So far, about two dozen restaurants are participating, but Venturini expects many more to sign on. The card is available online at www.ridine.com.
Venturini said the development of the card began after gift certificate sales were down significantly in the previous holiday season after several retailers suddenly closed their doors, making consumers wary of buying gift certificates.
“The restaurants wanted us to help them market it,” Venturini said. •
