https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
Banking Technology
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Expert Insights
    • Back
    • Expert Insights
    • Commentaries
    • Smart Cities Council
    • Co-op Solutions
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • American City & County Awards
    • Events
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Expert Insights
    • Back
    • Commentaries
    • Smart Cities Council
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • American City & County Awards
    • Events
    • Municipal Cost Index
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to AC&C
    • Manage AC&C Subscription
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com

issue_20060101


Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout

Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout

TOURISM INCENTIVES GET TRI-STATE TRYOUT By John Gramlich Maryland hopes to reel in visitors with a million-dollar fish. Iowa and South Dakota hope free
  • Written by American City & County Administrator
  • 15th August 2006

TOURISM INCENTIVES GET TRI-STATE TRYOUT

By John Gramlich

Maryland hopes to reel in visitors with a million-dollar fish. Iowa and South Dakota hope free gas vouchers will attract more tourists. Its all part of the annual summer scramble to pump travel dollars into state economies.

Bragging rights for the grandest tourism incentive prize probably accrue to Maryland. If you test your angling skills in the Free State and catch the right fish, you could collect a seven-figure paycheck. With Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and former Baltimore Orioles baseball star Boog Powell headlining a June 2 opening ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland kicked off its second annual $1,000,000 Fishing Challenge.

Marylands Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which is running the summer-long event, has tagged more than 1,500 fish in the states streams, rivers and lakes, as well as the Chesapeake Bay. Licensed anglers who catch any of the tagged fish are automatically entered into a pool of contestants, with five chosen as winners at a Sept. 16 drawing, also in Annapolis.

Four winners will take home prizes that include two pickup trucks and two motorboats with trailers. The fifth will earn a 1-in-65 chance to win $1 million in a raffle. Corporate sponsors, including Boaters World, Toyota of Maryland and Bass Pro Shops, provide all prizes and money.

State officials say the competition is an economic quid pro quo. If you go fishing, chances are, youre going to stop at a convenience store and buy some sodas or ice, get some gas, buy some bait or a fishing rod, said DNR spokesman Marty Gary. We know theres a huge impact by folks going fishing.

Landlocked Iowa and South Dakota have attracted tourists with gas vouchers instead of fish.

Iowa, together with the convenience-store chain Kum & Go, gave away 25 gas vouchers worth $50 each on July 13 after a two-month promotion by the states Tourism Office. More than 5,300 people registered to win one of the cards, the Iowa Department of Economic Development reported.

South Dakotas Office of Tourism has offered visitors $20 fuel vouchers that serve a dual purpose to boost tourism and the states ethanol industry. South Dakota ranks among the top producers of ethanol in the country.

The fuel vouchers can be used at hundreds of ethanol retailers across the state and are paid for by two industry advocacy groups, the American Coalition for Ethanol and the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.

The vouchers are only available to residents of a select 10 states: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. A majority of South Dakotas tourists come from those states, said Billie Jo Waara, director of the Office of Tourism.

The voucher program, called Twenty Bucks for the Road, has proven immensely popular, too popular, in fact, Waara said. The state suspended the giveaways after distributing more than 35,000 vouchers. Tourism officials originally expected to hand out 3,500. Marylands fishing competition has raised the stakes since its inception last year. This years Fishing Challenge will revive a Maryland tradition that could pay anglers an instant $25,000 without the raffle necessary to claim the $1 million grand prize. Each week during the 13-week contest, which ends on Labor Day, contest organizers are releasing five striped bass also known as rockfish, the official state fish into the Chesapeake Bay or one of its tributaries. One of the five rockfish, which carry special, neon-green tags, comes with a guaranteed $25,000 prize if caught within a week.

Organizers have dubbed the weekly winning fish Diamond Jim, after a state competition in the 1950s that established the $25,000 prize for a tagged Maryland rockfish, DNR spokesman Gary said. Back then, the National Brewing Co. of Baltimore put up the prize money.

No one has reeled in Diamond Jim so far this year, though two people have caught rockfish with the neon-green tags just days past the deadline, Gary said. Anglers have caught more than 120 total tagged fish since the Fishing Challenge began, he said, noting that this years event is longer and more lucrative for anglers than last years.

Theres never been a contest of this magnitude sponsored by the state of Maryland in its history, he said.

Not all states are convinced that tourist-incentives programs pay in the long run.

Kansas, which for the past two summers has organized a promotion called the Mega Gigantic Getaway Giveaway, discontinued it this year. The giveaway targeted Kansas visitors who traveled more than 50 miles, providing winners with a host of prizes including a big-screen TV, a Big Family Weekend in Kansas City and an I-35 Road Trip.

Although the giveaway was well-received and increased awareness about Kansas, We didnt think the prizes persuaded people to travel, said Richard Smalley, a spokesman with the state tourism office.

Source: Stateline.org.

Tags: ar issue_20060101 mag

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

White Papers


What is Your Plan for Cybersecurity?

5th February 2019

5 Best Practices for Utilizing GIS Data

5th February 2019

City of Stamford Saves $1-Million Via Car Sharing

1st February 2019
view all

Events


Twitter


AmerCityCounty

A new #report ranks the 52 American #metropolitan areas with over 1 million residents based on their… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

14th February 2019
AmerCityCounty

Today, we announced the six winners of American #City & #County's 2018 Crown Communities awards! Congratulations to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

12th February 2019
AmerCityCounty

The @CityOfNOLA #CityCouncil is calling for the @NFL to review its rules after the @Saints lost the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

29th January 2019
AmerCityCounty

Is your #city among #UHaul's top 25 #GrowthCities for 2018? buff.ly/2S8hptr https://t.co/rI4x0Lcdql

25th January 2019
AmerCityCounty

The personal information for approximately 1,470 #Knoxville, Tenn. #government employees was inadvertently posted o… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

25th January 2019
AmerCityCounty

““Seconded” staffers, or temporary #procurement professionals at #DallasAreaRapidTransit handle varying heavy workl… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

23rd January 2019
AmerCityCounty

As the longest #GovernmentShutdown in U.S. history continues with no sign of abating, city governments are stepping… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

15th January 2019
AmerCityCounty

Florida Governor @RonDeSantisFL formally suspended #BrowardCounty, Fla. Sheriff Scott Israel on Jan. 11, following… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

15th January 2019

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Expert Insights

Learn from experts in the public and private sectors about best practices and how to optimize your government’s operations.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital and print audiences? Learn more here.

American City and County

© American City and County 2019. All rights reserved.

  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Cookies Policy
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service

Related Links

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

Follow us

Websites are now required by law to gain your consent before applying cookies. We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Parts of the website may not work as expected without them. By closing or ignoring this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
X