Features

California should advertise its beauty

Charles Smith
Friday December 21, 2001

Editor:  

The Governor's ad campaign to encourage tourism in California may be a sop to some of his political contributors and may not have much affect on tourists.. 

What is really needed is for California to examine what our competitors are doing and try their tactics too. For instance, Canadian Provinces publish free tourist booklets which list the tourist needs as any tourist would find them while driving along each numbered highway route. The progressive data for each city or town along a numbered highway route shows all the places to stay, to eat, to see, and the principal celebrations held each year. Thus a tourist can size up a locality ahead of time at home before starting out or on the road just driving along. 

At least two states, Alaska and Texas have private publishers which have put out books with the same information along highway routes. I suggest the California tourist agency should do it too and update it annually. 

The other thing California should do is to advertise how beautiful the state is after the rains from February to late May, before the weather gets so hot. 

 

Charles Smith 

Berkeley