The Special Legislative Commission to Study Methods for Growing Tourism in the State of Rhode Island Through Coordinated Branding and Marketing Efforts will meet Friday at the Old Colony House in Newport.
The meeting, open to the public, is scheduled Friday, July 15, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.at the Old Colony House, which is located in Washington Square in downtown Newport.
At this meeting, commission members will meet the new Rhode Island Commerce Corporation Chief Marketing Officer, Lara Salamano, receive an update from the Commerce Corporation on the statewide tourism campaign and learn about the Old Colony House. Ruth Taylor of the Newport Historical Society will give a presentation about the building, which was the meeting place of Rhode Island’s colonial legislature and was one of the buildings where the state legislature met until the construction of the current State House in 1901.
Led by Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport), the commission was organized to study Rhode Island’s tourism industry and make recommendations for cultivating it through statewide coordinated branding and marketing efforts. The goals of the commission for the remainder of this year have been expanded by the House to include a review of the distribution of the hotel tax, to explore a new framework for statewide management of tourism and to design ways to measure the results of our statewide marketing strategy.
“I am bringing my next study commission meeting to Newport because tourism is the lifeblood of our economy and because citizens’ participation in state government matters,” Representative Carson said. “A smart and sustainable tourism industry is vital to Newport, our small businesses and our local economy, and I invite all those who are interested in the way it’s presented to potential visitors.”
