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Pinellas Tourism Makes Push In N.Y. Subways

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 4, 2009

Pinellas County tourism officials hope it keeps snowing in New York, where they've taken over the marketing rights in two of the busiest subway stations with the message "Regrettably, the F Train Doesn't Go Far Enough South."

The "Station Domination" initiative runs through March, and will be repeated in December, with giant beach images and subway station columns wrapped like swimming buoys that warn "No Black Ice" and "No Freezing Allowed."

Images of Salvador Dali and a Tarpon Springs sponge diver are accompanied by the message: "And You Thought New York Had Some Unusual Characters."

The campaign at the 34th Street/Herald Square and 59th Street/Lexington Avenue stations comes at an opportune time.

Not only has winter lingered in New York, Pinellas County is suffering a declines in hotel bed tax collections. The visitors bureau faces a $1.9 million or 8.5 percent shortfall through September in its $30.7 million budget.

Pinellas must lay off two employees and eliminate two open positions from Visit St. Petersburg/Clearwater, the county's visitors bureau. It will trim $1.2 million in advertising funds, including $100,000 for a Busch Gardens co-operative effort and save $150,000 by eliminating its tourism representative in Canada.

Since Oct. 1, Hillsborough County's bed tax collections have been running about 8 percent lower than a year ago, but January's decline, helped by the Super Bowl, is off by less than 1 percent, said Marilyn Hett, of Hillsborough County's economic development office.

She said Hillsborough does not expect any budget revisions in fiscal 2009, which ends Sept, 30, because awards made from bed taxes are based on revenues received, with contract amounts the maximum or cap.

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