News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Local tourism officials have turned their attention to trying reach road trippers who may be tired of being stuck at home.
“People are wanting to plan a vacation,” Putnam County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Molly Brown said. “They are housed up and we have an opportunity to take advantage of a captive market of people who are sitting at home on social media.”
Brown told the Joint Economic Community Development Board Tuesday that the bureau has temporarily shifted its effort from attracting residents from areas like Atlanta, Birmingham or Indianapolis.
“We’re now looking at rural areas because we don’t want to invite guests to Putnam County who are coming from highly-populated areas,” Brown said. “Really trying to be conscious of the safety our locals as well as our hospitality partners.”
Noting the response has been good, Brown said the bureau recently updated its Pinterest photos. She said the bureau saw a first-week increase of 256 percent in impressions. Brown said the team wants to be flexible to respond to the organic nature of the campaign.
“We really feel as a Visitors Bureau, we need to be serving as a resource to our partners to help our hotels, our restaurants, our retail, everybody to be able to recover,” Brown said.
Road trips are expected to be popular this summer. One national RV company reports bookings have increased 650 percent since April. Brown said the bureau has been in regular contact with state officials who believe tourism can serve as a catalyst to help the economy rebound.
COVID-19 forced the bureau to scrap its original marketing plan for 2020 which focused on adventure travel.
