When it comes to states, which one spends the most for tourism?
Hawaii, followed by Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida, according to the Travel Industry Association of America’s (TIA) annual survey of budgets.
That figure was a 10.6% increase overall compared to last year, the TIA said.
Hawaii spends just short of $70 million, while Rhode Island is at the bottom of the list with $1.7 million.
A large amount of each state’s tourism budget is set aside for domestic advertising and sales promotions. Texas is spending the most in that category, with $13.7 million.
State tourism offices overall plan to spend $21.2 million on international advertising and sales promotion for 2004-2005, an increase of almost 28%.
Other methods’ states use to promote travel to their destinations include toll-free telephone numbers, annual governors conferences on tourism, press tours, travel related research and international offices.
Report by David Wilkening
