Neighboring states fighting for tourism dollars

ATLANTA --- Whether you call it more of a friendly competition than a feud, Georgia and South Carolina are busy enticing each other's residents to vacation in the other state.

The recession prompted the change from trolling for Yankee tourist dollars. With families watching spending, tourism marketers figure they needed to change strategies, too.

"We were trying to hedge our bets and guess what people are doing," said Marion Edmonds, a spokesman for the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Last winter, the department launched an ad blitz at snow-weary Chicagoans. This year, the focus is on families in nearby states who plan to drive to their vacations to save money.

Mr. Edmonds said the marketers in his department looked at the five cities that have traditionally been the main sources of drive-in visitors, including Atlanta, Greensboro and Charlotte, and targeted them.

Georgia officials were making the same calculations, said Kevin Langston, the assistant commissioner for tourism in the state Department of Economic Development.

"Everybody is reacting to the current marketing conditions, which means staying closer to home and having shorter vacations," he said. "We are fortunate enough to have the biggest population center for the whole region in Atlanta, so everyone is in this market."

Many of the states' tourism messages are coming through articles in newspapers and magazines and TV shows in the form of public relations rather than ads as the tourism agencies cope with tighter budgets. South Carolina is looking at a 30 percent smaller budget, though much of the economizing was done through layoffs to maintain as much of the advertising budget as possible.

Others in the market are fine-tuning strategies to get visitors to stay longer. The Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association decided to lengthen the programs in its two annual wine and seafood festivals from four hours on two afternoons to four days each, according to Executive Director Ann Marie Adam. The aim was to get visitors to spend the night in hotels and spend their money in restaurants.

On Monday, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce launched an effort with hotels aimed at keeping Palmetto State residents from Georgia's beaches, mountain and cities.

The "Close to Home Escapes" campaign links a series of promotions offered by the hotels, such as vouchers for meals, gas rebates and free tickets to attractions.