https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
    • Product Guides
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
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

Most Recent


  • What’s my truck worth?
    Truck Value VIN Decoding & Make/Year/Model Lookup
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    Calendar of events
    A list of NIGP courses, conferences and webinars for NIGP members held in December 2012 and January 2013.
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    UPPCC new certifications
    The Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council announces that 208 individuals successfully completed the spring 2012 UPPCC certification examinations administered in May 2012.
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    Performance data on the latest certification exams
    The UPPCC has released key performance data from the May 2012 examinations.

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 *

Related Content

  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    Pharmacists Rank High In Honesty and Ethics
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    Refining Company, Managers Plead Guilty to Felony Clean Water Act Violations at Oklahoma Plant
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    DHS Awards Management Contract for National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center
  • Tourism Incentives Get Tri-State Tryout
    House, Senate Pass Historic Postal Reform Legislation

White papers


Digital Government Service Delivery – A Guide for Buyers

23rd February 2023

Modernizing government services for today’s resident expectations

24th January 2023

Preparing Your Community Now for the Next Generation of Older Adults

18th October 2022
view all

Webinars


Future-proof Your State and Local Government Finance: 5 Key Trends for 2023

6th February 2023

How To: Evaluate Digital Government Service Delivery Technologies

23rd January 2023

Using Technology to Enhance Communications

29th November 2022
view all

PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

GALLERIES


Gallery: America’s top 10 bicycle-friendly cities

20th March 2023

Gallery: Top 10 hardest working American cities

8th March 2023

Gallery: Top 10 least expensive American metro areas

24th February 2023
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Overcoming worker shortages in public sector amidst growing demand dlvr.it/SlYssG

27th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Renters living at or below the poverty line face a ‘severe shortage of housing’ dlvr.it/SlR6rb

24th March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Report: Technology is encouraging unprecedented collaboration in local government organizations dlvr.it/SlNYqx

23rd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Metal buildings can be a lifesaver for local governments needing to expand dlvr.it/SlMCV1

23rd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Transportation department to invest $94M into projects promoting innovation, safety dlvr.it/SlKRf7

22nd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

How state and local CIOs can prioritize security, cloud and legacy systems dlvr.it/SlK7H1

22nd March 2023
AmerCityCounty

Addressing the housing crises requires creativity, collaboration dlvr.it/SlGTFz

21st March 2023
AmerCityCounty

St. Louis Communities Boost Great Energy Savings dlvr.it/SlFyV0

21st March 2023

Newsletters

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

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

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 audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2023 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.