Connecticut taps into immigrant past to promote tourism

Here are several selections from the full story below:

* Initially costing $100,000, the project stems from an emerging marketing strategy known as cultural or ethnic tourism. With more than 100 heritage or cultural organizations, Connecticut has a strong base of support to launch a cultural tourism initiative, said Kip Bergstrom, deputy economic development commissioner.

* As states compete fiercely for tourist dollars, marketing officials are looking for any angle to promote their communities. In Connecticut, tourism generates about $11.5 billion in spending, $1.15 billion in state and local tax revenue and employs nearly 111,000 workers, according to 2011 statistics, the most recent.

* The National Park Service posts 54 online travel itineraries promoting 2,500 sites of the National Register of Historic Places to tap into a growing interest in cultural and historic tourism.

Read full story at:

http://www.ajc.com/travel/conn-taps-into-immigrant-1432756.html