The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton COC received $200,000 from the city’s emergency fund to bolster its lagging tourism industry, The Island Packet reported. “If this isn't an emergency, I don't know what is,” Mayor Tom Peeples said.
The move was precipitated both by PKF Hospitality Research’s bleak projection last week that hotels would not see relief from the recession until second quarter 2010 and sagging local tourism figures. Area resorts and hotels have seen fewer attendees at group functions.
The new ad campaign will focus on travelers from Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. The campaign, called “Hilton Head Island ’09,” will include electronic billboards, radio ads played during rush hour, Internet ads and promotion at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The ad blitz is scheduled to launch in mid-January.
