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| Fri, Nov. 21, 2008 |  |
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Clinton enthusiasts targeted in revamped tourism effort Wednesday, May 28, 2008 By Jason Wiest Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Tourism officials released revamped travel brochures Tuesday that double as "passports" for a "Billgrimage" through four Arkansas cities with ties to former President Bill Clinton. "It's basically a tool to cross-sell Arkansas," said state tourism director Joe David Rice. "When people come to the (Clinton Presidential) Library, we would encourage them to go along to Hot Springs, Hope and Fayetteville." The original passports, 50,000 of which were printed in 2004, were supposed to last for 2 years, according to Clinton Foundation spokesman Jordan Johnson. They only made it about eight months, he said. "We had no idea they would take off like that," Johnson said. The four cities on the Billgrimage, the state Department of Parks and Tourism and the state Department of Arkansas Heritage partnered to create 130,000 updated, more accurate versions. Now the pamphlet acts as a guide as much as it does a keepsake. Rice said the Billgrimage passports are designed to help the state lure "heritage tourists," one of the fastest-growing segments of the tourism business. Heritage tourists tend to stay in the state longer and spend more money that fishers or campers, he said. The Clinton Presidential Library is one of the state's top tourist attractions, hosting about 300,000 visitors annually. |
