After a year of lockdowns and travel restrictions, the Connecticut Office of Tourism is launching a new, $1.2 million summer marketing campaign in hopes of increasing visits to beaches, parks, cultural venues, restaurants and other attractions.
The “Say Yes to Connecticut” multimedia campaign officially started May 1, and will continue through Sept. 6, Labor Day, with ads airing on television and social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram, according to state tourism officials. The effort is also expected to incorporate paid search marketing, email marketing and new content published through CTvisit.com, Connecticut’s official tourism website.
Marketing materials will feature hundreds of businesses and recreation sites across the state, including inns, bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants, museums, historical attractions, farms, wineries, breweries, state parks, beaches, nature centers and shopping destinations.
“Many Northeast consumers are ready to get out and safely travel this summer, so we’re focused on making sure that Connecticut is top of mind,” said Christine Castonguay, interim director of the Office of Tourism. “Not only does Connecticut have a huge variety of tourism experiences to ‘say yes’ to, but our location and size make them easily accessible so people can spend less time getting to their long-awaited day trips and vacations, and more time enjoying them.”
According to tourism officials, a similarly-sized promotional campaign run last year generated 41.4 million television and video views, 87 million social media impressions and 795,000 visits to CTvisit.com. Using GPS data, the Office of Tourism calculated that 10% of people who saw the digital ads or browsed the website actually visited Connecticut tourism destinations during the campaign season.
The ad campaign comes as Connecticut is nearing a total reopening of its economy.
Gov. Ned Lamont lifted capacity limits on certain businesses, including restaurants, in March and is set to drop nearly all COVID-19-related restrictions on May 19. The state will continue to require the wearing of face coverings while indoors.
