Travel Oregon has come up with some new ways to boost its visitor counts during the fall harvest season.
As part of its annual Oregon Bounty promotion -- which celebrates the state's culinary abundance through unique travel experiences, autumn events and overnight packages -- the state has created culinary-themed maps of Oregon's regions and a new food and drink Web site.
The seven limited-edition poster-size illustrated maps highlight iconic gems and insider tips in each of Oregon's tourism regions. The maps suggest three- to five-day road trips with out-of-the-ordinary places to eat, sleep and play. The call to action invites clients to visit Travel Oregon's new food and drink Web site, www.traveloregon.com/bounty, to explore more ideas and plan trips.
The maps will be inserted in regional editions of travel and culinary magazines such as Sunset and Wine Spectator. They will also be distributed in coffee shops, newspaper stands, book stores, welcome centers and other gathering places in September and October. Travel Oregon will place regional maps that are closest to that travel area; for instance, maps of greater Portland and the Willamette Valley will be distributed in Seattle locations; and southern Oregon and coastal maps can be found in San Francisco.
The maps and Web site have been created in conjunction with Travel Oregon's current Oregon Bounty Cuisinternship contest, where seven winners will spend one week with seven Oregon culinary masters. To enter the contest, clients can visit the new Web site, upload their own short video, and write a Twitter-length statement of 140 characters or less about why they should win one of seven culinary dream jobs. The contest runs through Sept. 18, 2009.
"Using these creative tactics is an innovative and personal way to deliver the Oregon Bounty message directly to potential visitors," said Travel Oregon head Todd Davidson. "It communicates the Oregon culinary experience via intimate and accessible sources, as a friend might recommend a destination to another."
