Connecticut’s tourism industry scored a win Friday just in time for the summer season.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday announced the state’s seven highway rest area buildings on Monday will again operate at all hours seven days a week, thanks to new funding in the recently inked biennial state budget.
The state in Oct. 2016 significantly reduced staffing levels and operation hours at the so-called welcome centers, slashing the tourism budget by 31.5 percent, down to $6.5 million.
State tourism officials have argued that limiting access to highway rest areas on Interstates 84, 91 and 95 has discouraged travelers from extending their stays in Connecticut.
Lamont, who has advocated for reopening the welcome centers, said the funding cuts were “well intentioned” but were ultimately “penny wise and pound foolish.”
“We have to make the necessary investments to attract people to visit and return to our state,” the governor said. “This is a small but meaningful step toward making Connecticut more attractive to visitors and our residents alike.”
Randy Fiveash, director of state tourism, earlier this year estimated that fully reopening the welcome centers, owned by the state Department of Transportation, would cost between $700,000 to $1 million annually to operate.
Fiveash has said the rest areas are crucial to informing visitors of tourism hubs across the state.
“We’ve shown we can help people extend their stay within the state when they come into a welcome center,” he told the Hartford Business Journal in March.
The state-operated rest areas are in the following locations:
- I-84 Danbury eastbound past exit 2
- I-84 Southington eastbound past exit 28
- I-84 Willington eastbound past exit 69
- I-84 Willington westbound past exit 70
- I-91 Wallingford southbound past exit 15
- I-91 Middletown northbound past exit 19
- I-95 North Stonington southbound past exit 93
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