Saturday, March 13, 2010

Franklin County on Display in Regional Airports

Franklin County’s beaches, historic landmarks, and natural resources are now on display in the Tallahassee Regional Airport and the Panama City Regional Airport, and will soon be on display in Bay County’s new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport scheduled to open in May. The Franklin County Tourist Development Council organized the airport marketing project, which was recently approved by the Franklin County Board of County Commissioners.

The airport displays, which consist of a 70” LCD video display in the new Bay County airport and a 42” backlit billboard in the Tallahassee airport brings Franklin County front and center among other North Florida destinations vying for the attention of the visiting traveler – at a fraction of the cost spent by other vacation destinations in the region.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Franklin County to piggyback on the big budget marketing efforts of Bay, Walton, and Leon Counties,” said TDC chairman Helen Spohrer. “Our marketing budget is less than 1% of the combined budgets of these counties.”

The two airport contracts cost slightly under $10,000 per year, but TDC officials say they are priceless in terms of the visibility and opportunity to attract visitors who would not otherwise consider Franklin County as a vacation destination.

“Over the past several years we have been able to establish a relationship with our TDC neighbors to the west,” Spohrer said. “Franklin County is not a threat to those destinations – we offer something completely different. They recognize that and see our value in the total package.”

According to Sheila Hauser, the TDC board member spearheading the airport contracts, the displays will change periodically and will be accompanied by the TDC’s informational brochure about the area.

No comments:

Post a Comment