America's Byways® Press Room
February 26, 2003 - See America's Byways Campaign
The See America’s Byways campaign is a partnership between the Department of Transportation and The Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) representing the $536 billion U.S. travel industry.
The overall goal of the campaign is to generate renewed interest in driving trips throughout the United States, with an emphasis on America’s Byways and their historic, recreational, cultural and scenic significance.
The campaign was developed based upon TIA research which indicates Americans are 1) driving more than flying, 2) staying closer to home, 3) spending less money, and 4) looking for an “authentic” American experience. Further, TIA research confirms that travelers are continuing to use online resources more regularly for trip planning and booking.
One of the core features of the campaign is to make itineraries available in an easily-accessible format from the www.SeeAmerica.org web site. Each byway is searchable by state and will feature a photo, map and itineraries as well as appropriate links to other sites, i.e., state tourism web sites, tour operator sites, and Byways.org. We anticipate that itineraries will be available on www.SeeAmerica.org by March 7, 2003.
To promote these itineraries, TIA is creating a number of tools. In cooperation with National Geographic Traveler Magazine, 25 spectacular photographs have been selected. Each photo represents a different byway or All-American road. These photos will be used in a pictorial email, set to music, and ending with the words: “See America. Now More Than Ever.” Recipients can click on the SeeAmerica.org logo and be linked directly to the See America’s Byways section where all the itineraries can be found. The email will be distributed to all TIA members and all byways organizations that will, in turn, forward it to their respective email distribution lists. This way, we all are able to take advantage of each other’s distribution network to make sure Americans and international travelers get the message to travel in America. This email will be sent out the last week of April in order to be distributed the first week of May. This email will be distributed FREE of charge.
TIA has negotiated with USA Today to publish a special section on May 9th called “See America’s Byways”. This section will feature several of the itineraries from the SeeAmerica.org site and will include editorial copy provided by Fodor’s and will encourage readers to go to SeeAmerica.org for more information about driving trips in the US.
On May 10th, See America Day, the byways will be celebrating See America’s Byways Day. This is the first day of National Tourism Week and the last day of National Historic Preservation Week, and the entire travel and tourism industry, along with many historic and cultural institutions, will be passing out a common branded premium to their customers, a SeeAmerica bookmark. The front of the bookmark simply says “SeeAmerica. Now More than Ever.” The back of the bookmark can be overprinted with a message, offer or logo, customized by each individual organization. For example, a hotel chain might use a “kids stay free,” message, a museum might print a “half price on return visit” offer, etc. Each participating organization determines their individual message. The prices are extremely reasonable, $50 for 1,000 bookmarks including printing and shipping, up to $1,500 for 100,000 bookmarks. The minimum customized order is 1,000 pieces and the deadline to order is March 23, 2003. Order forms and information can be found on www.tia.org. We expect to deliver over 10 million bookmarks to travelers across America on May 10th. (Many organizations are choosing to use the bookmarks beyond SeeAmerica Day, as well.) With broad participation by the travel industry on May 10th, we hope to generate a great deal of publicity, both locally and nationally.
Another component of the See America’s Byways campaign is a traveling photo exhibit. The same 25 National Geographic Traveler photos we are using in the email will be displayed in an attractive, museum-quality exhibit that can be shipped to organizations for local events. If you are interested in hosting the exhibit, please contact TIA Marketing at 202-408-8422 and ask for Lyndsay Rossman.
The final component of the campaign is a signature See America’s Byways poster, featuring one of the 25 exhibit photos. This poster will be sent to travel agencies throughout the US, UK, Japan and Brazil and will be distributed to agents and tour operators at several international and domestic trade shows.
For additional information about the See America’s Byways Campaign or the See America’s Byways Day, please contact Shana Baker with the National Scenic Byways Program at shana.baker@fhwa.dot.gov or (202) 366-1862.
