Tourism Will Be A ‘Priority’ for Both Candidates
by Christine Stuart | Aug 18, 2010 9:41pm
(3) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Election 2010, State Budget
When it comes to tourism the two gubernatorial candidates aren’t too far apart on the idea that the state needs to spend money to make money.
Democratic Dan Malloy said Wednesday he would dedicate $15 million of the state’s budget toward marketing Connecticut’s culture and tourism industry.
Republican Tom Foley’s campaign spokeswoman Liz Osborn said her candidate believes “tourism is an important part of our economy and we need to invest in it.”
Just how big that investment will be can’t be determined independently of a full budget discussion, Osborn said.
On a tour of the new Connecticut Science Center Wednesday Malloy said he firmly believes we need to build a sizeable budget devoted to promoting Connecticut outside of Connecticut.
“I’m tired of seeing you know Cape Cod advertised, the Adirondack’s advertised, Michigan advertised, Colorado advertised in Fairfield County, and knowing we’re not advertising Connecticut,” Malloy said.
“Somebody in Boston had the bright idea of getting a red can paint and putting a strip down the street and now they’re eating our lunch. Well it‘s time to get back in the game.”
He said the $15 million he envisions using to market Connecticut’s destinations comes from the $1.3 billion generated by the tourism industry in the state.
What would he cut to find the money when the state is facing a $3.4 billion deficit?
“It would displace less important things,” Malloy said.
What he wasn’t sure of was what the appropriate level of state subsidy should be to institutions like the Science Center, which opened its doors in June 2009 shortly after Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the legislature cut its subsidy and the subsidy of all other similar attractions.
“The state can subsidize, but eventually most everything is going to have to operate on its own,” Rell said the day she cut the ribbon at the Science Center.
Edward Main, publicist for the Connecticut Science Center, said about 65 percent of its costs are funded by the price of admission. Its 15 percent state subsidy was cut to 8 percent for both 2009 and 2010, but it has since made up some of the slack by meeting its projected admission levels during its inaugural year.
But for the candidates tourism is about more than dollars and cents, it’s about the return on the investment.
What this boils down to is priorities, Malloy said.
“I think an industry that along with the rest of the hospitality industry represents 10 percent of your workforce is something you spend more than a $1 promoting,” Malloy said.
Foley’s spokeswoman wouldn’t say how much her candidate would be willing to spend, “But investing in this sector would be a priority.”
“How much we need to spend can’t be determined independently of a full discussion about the budget,” she added.
(3) Comments
posted by: James D | August 19, 2010 4:22pm
Boondoggle Number 152….
As someone who grew up near, but outside of, Connecticut, I can assure you: Before the casinos, very few people thought about vacationing or “touristing” in Connecticut.
Now, they come for the casinos.
Whatever else we THINK we have (history, science, beaches, culture… ) some other place, not too far away, has more and better (Boston, NYC, Cape Cod, Vermont, etc.)
Connecticut is a great state to live in. But you wouldn’t want to visit there.
So there are much better uses for our tax dollars.
posted by: billhosley | August 21, 2010 10:24am
CT has been in this endless Catch 22 on tourism for years. It’s never a priority, so a succession of Governors don’t really know what to make of it; if they get talked into anything it’s wasting more money on badly-designed marketing campaigns aimed at the wrong audience.
A couple facts: Visiting friends and relatives is the #1 driver of “tourism.”. CT is not the Grand Canyon. But it is filled with extraordinary treasures we ignore at their (and our) peril. The “Staycation” initiative is good, but needs a compelling message that explains what do see and do. Residents can’t be effective ambassadors if they don’t know half of what’s here.
CT’s tourism economy is probably half a billion $ industry (assuming 500,000 average $1,000 each in out of state tourism spending) that is mostly spent leaving CT for destinations elsewhere.
We need a campaign to inform folks about what makes CT special; what there is to see and do above and beyond the parade of touring music and theater acts. CTMuseumQuest.org – is the best thing out that. But we (and that means the State agency paid to do this) need to do a better job, listen to the people who know and love the state, avoid being seduced by out of state marketing “experts” and salestalkers and take our own side in the argument.
Tourism is a huge part of how a state like this shapes it’s image which means that, economically, it is about way more than just “tourism.”
posted by: not buying it | August 18, 2010 10:51pm
Foley promotes fiscal responsibility. Malloy fails to provide specifics as to which “less important things” will be cut to promote tourism (not exactly a booming industry these days). SEIU must be pleased.