Ad Campaign Urges Americans to Travel

A national travel trade group is predicting U.S. travel and tourism spending to drop 10% in the fourth quarter, prompting it to launch an advertising campaign to persuade Americans to get moving again.

The Washington-based Travel Industry Assn. of America this week began running ads in major newspapers across the country declaring “the freedom to come and go as we please is a cherished right.”

The promotional campaign is part of a broader strategy unveiled by the TIA at its national conference in Atlanta to help support an industry that’s been pummeled in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On the legislative front, the group plans to lobby Congress for low-interest small-business loans for tourism-related businesses as well as 100% tax deductibility for business travel and entertainment expenses. Travel and tourism is the nation’s third-largest employer, generating $582 billion in spending last year.

“Ninety-five percent of all travel and tourism companies are small businesses,” said TIA spokeswoman Cathy Keefe. “We keep hearing about the big companies, but the mom and pops are being affected as well.”

Keefe said the initial ad campaign is part of a multi-pronged marketing strategy to reassure Americans about traveling. Coming promotions include a program with the theme “It’s Your Country. See It. See America”; a “See America Sweepstakes” that will give away a two-week vacation in each of the 50 states; and a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service focused on a new series of stamps highlighting the attractions of each state. Keefe says the TIA also plans to work with the major television networks to craft public service announcements to ease Americans’ fears about traveling.

Whether it has enough firepower to be effective remains to be seen. Keefe said the TIA spent $500,000 on the first phase of the marketing campaign. By comparison, Las Vegas just launched a $13-million effort to lure skittish visitors back to the gambling mecca.

The TIA also released some travel projections at its Atlanta conference. The nonprofit group predicts fourth-quarter travel spending to drop 10% from the same quarter in 2000 and estimates it will be down 5% for the full year. The group predicts travel spending next year will remain flat, increasing just 1% over 2001.