Tourism Awareness Week (May 14 – 20) is fast approaching, and we wanted to let businesses know some of our thoughts on how to promote your locations during the week.
While Hastings County will be promoting events on Twitter and Facebook during the week, we’re hoping to get businesses to promote themselves as well. We would like to assist and encourage you to hold a special event during Tourism Awareness Week (TAW) to attract patrons to your business and promote local tourism. Our team been brainstorming in the office and here are a number of suggestions:
- Offer a discount or hold a tax-free event;
- Hold a “social hour,” networking opportunity, or similar event at your establishment to draw people in;
- Offer special TAW pricing on admission;
- Restaurants can come up with a special menu item to serve during TAW, or offer a prix fixe menu;
- Prior to TAW, give out coupons to customers who get their passport signed during the HOT Spots contest, redeemable between May 14 and May 20.
Take part in our series of social media offers that we will promote though Twitter and Facebook. These social media specials would promote flash deals that would begin and end at a certain time on a certain day. For example, we would post: “Visit the Craftsman Restaurant between 12 – 1pm and receive a free beverage!” or “The first five people to visit West Wind Gallery and Gifts will get a $5 gift card.”
Using this type of promotional tactic will encourage customers to visit at different times of the day throughout the week. We could use this to bump up customers during slow times to ensure businesses are seeing the full potential of our TAW and that customers are excited to participate. Ideally, we would love to have at least one social media special per day throughout the week.
If you’d like to participate in any of the promotions outlined here, or have plans of your own, feel free to let us know and we can work together to make TAW a huge success in Hastings County.
If you are looking for more suggestions, we’d be happy to work with you to find an appropriate social media special or other deal to draw customers to your business during TAW.
Please contact Elysia Geen at 613.966.6712 ext 4012 or email geene@hastingscounty.com
Our first social media offer so far… comes from Exhale Day Spa in Tweed.
Tourism Awareness Week Special Promotions: May 14 – 20 visit Exhale Day Spa in Tweed on Thursday, May 17 and get a half price manicure with the purchase of a pedicure. www.exhaledayspatweed.com
