More funding for tourism means more tax revenue for the state.

And we have the data to prove it.

Members of the State Office of Tourism are using an exciting new marketing measurement tool that shows the economic impact our marketing investment is having in driving visitors to the state.

This new tool, called Arrivalist, uses cell phone data to capture how many consumers view our ads or social media posts on their smart phones—which is how 75% of our marketing is viewed today. Then, using phone location data, we can see how many more ad-viewers arrived in the state (not counting those shown to come in regularly) than those who did not see the ads. Which means we can see how our ad messages truly are bringing people to visit, stay and spend money in Connecticut who may not have come here otherwise.

The results confirm that our marketing is working:

• Our primary target audience in NYC who viewed our messaging visited Connecticut 6.4 times more than those not exposed.

• And those people stayed in Connecticut 3.5 times longer.

• For every $1 Connecticut invested in paid media for tourism marketing, the state received an estimated $14 in state and local taxes from marketing-influenced travelers who would not have otherwise visited.

We think you’ll agree that these results demonstrate how important it is to increase the Statewide Tourism Marketing Fund now.

Local Businesses can take advantage of statewide marketing measures by signing up as a Tourism Business Partner on ctvisit.com.  Free listings are available to businesses who meet the state tourism criteria.  Check out the New Hartford businesses who are already participating at:  http://www.ctvisit.com/listings/town-new-hartford