Vermont tourism officials anticipating strong summer

tourism officials are expecting an excellent summer travel season and will launch an aggressive marketing campaign in major metropolitan markets to draw more visitors to the state. Commissioner Bruce Hyde pointed to the continued steady performance of the Rooms and Meals tax as one of the positive indicators of the strength of Vermont’s tourism industry, despite the current economic climate. Rooms and Meals tax revenues to date for fiscal year 2009 are down by only 3 percent compared with the same period in 2008, a year that had the largest increase in those revenues in a decade. Hyde said Vermont continues to outperform national travel statistics.
Vermont is also expected to experience a boost in visitor travel this summer during the 2009 Lake Champlain Quadricentennial, which marks the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s exploration of the region. More than 100 events, exhibits and programs are scheduled for the Quadricentennial around the state.
According to the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing, visitors made a total of 14.3 million trips to Vermont in 2007. Thirty-three percent of those visitors came during the summer, making it the busiest time of the year in terms of total visitors. Total direct spending by visitors adds an estimated $1.61 billion to the Vermont economy annually and supports more than 37,490 jobs for Vermonters.
The Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing will kick-off its summer marketing campaign in Boston, New York, Montreal and Vermont next month. The campaign will promote Vermont primarily through radio stations, online advertising, and out-of-home signage in train and subway stations.
“We certainly expect the summer season to be a strong one for tourism,” said Commissioner Hyde. “Many people are planning to travel closer to home this summer because of the economy, and Vermont is well-positioned geographically because it is within a 300-mile radius of more than 80 million people.”