Tourism advocates get hard realities and creative strategies at workshop

Mystic - The Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism may have only $1 to market the state, but it also has some tricks up its sleeve to keep the "glass half full."

"We're not dead yet," Tourism Director Randy Fiveash quipped, citing Connecticut native Mark Twain's famous line, "The report of my death is greatly exaggerated."

A roomful of more than 50 people at the Mystic Hilton at the Aquarium lingered at the end of the "Moving Forward" workshop, one of five being held around the state, for news about how to apply for $700,000 in grants, some of which will be available for tourism, but none of which the commission can spend directly on state marketing, Fiveash said.

The grants have always been available, but the $4.2 million in statewide marketing available last year is gone, so these grants will be needed more than ever, he said.

Since Connecticut is the only state in the country without a marketing budget, Fiveash said, "it's going to take all the people you're talking to, everybody not here today ... it's going to take everybody to make sure our voices are heard."

One approach involves marketing an online sweepstakes for a free Connecticut getaway. Eight competitive grants of $12,500 each, half the cost per partner, per season will be awarded to eight partners. Every time a sweepstakes participant refers a friend online, they'll get a better chance of winning, taking the promotion "viral," said Barbara Cieplak, the department's marketing director.

Another tool in the commission's arsenal is an electronic department newsletter that is 570,000 subscribers strong, mostly from New York, who are already coming to the state or are close enough to consider coming, Cieplak said.

The state tourism Web site is also being redesigned to offer advertising opportunities, free listings, specials tourism advocates can post themselves, and social networking. Billboard promotions and a glossy magazine newspaper insert to replace the state vacation guide will also be developed.

Tourist attractions from around the region that were represented at the meeting included the Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration, the two casinos, Groton-New London Airport, the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford and business owners from as far as Putnam, Griswold and Haddam.

Tony Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, suggested the commission make even more use of his group and others like it than it is doing now.

The Day Publishing Co., for instance, publishes Mystic Country magazine, which serves as the annual guide to tourism attractions across the region.

"We have a lot of volunteers who would be willing to help out, not just here but all over the state," Sheridan said. "There are eight metro chambers: Come and make your pitch. There's truly a great opportunity to get the word out."

Fiveash said such partnerships, though already in existence, can definitely be enhanced.

Despite the lack of funding, some fundamentals remain in place, Fiveash said. The official state tourism Web site, www.CTvisit.com, four of the six Connecticut Welcome Centers, and the toll-free 1-888-CTvisit information line will be available to tourists. David Labbe, vice president of sales and marketing for CMPS Multi-media Marketing of West Mystic, said he'd like to see even more direction offered by the commission, but both he and Sue Heath, marketing manager for the Mystic Seaport, acknowledged that the effort, given the challenges, is constructive and "positive."

Innkeeper Jeff Muthersbaugh, who two months ago opened the Nehemiah Brainard House bed and breakfast in Haddam, said Commission Executive Director Karen Senich's preservation of some services while creatively addressing others was "absolutely fabulous. This, to me," he said, "is the way government should work."

p.daddona@theday.com