New Hampshire showcases tourism draws

Representatives from New Hampshire’s tourism division headed north this week to provide a glimpse of what the Granite State has in store for travellers this year.

The delegates were promoting an updated marketing campaign titled Live Free (a play on the state motto of ‘Live Free or Die'), showcasing the many sides of New Hampshire tourism, from the 92 state parks offering opportunities for outdoor activities and wildlife spotting, to a growing culinary scene including 19 wineries and 42 breweries. According to Victoria Cimino, director, New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development, the campaign focuses on the human element of travel rather than the destination itself.

“It’s not about just the bucolic scenic background, it’s people enjoying that scene,” she said of the campaign. “We wanted to have some new footage to tell that story.”

To draw even more Canadian visitors, the marketing campaign will see New Hampshire travel draws promoted via video screens and posters in public transit stops in Toronto and Montreal beginning this month, and the state’s tourist attractions will also be featured on screens at various Tim Hortons restaurant locations.

Due to its close proximity to the border, Cimino said the state sees 1.1 million Canadian visitors each year, with the majority (66 per cent) travelling from Quebec. 

Ontario and New Brunswick make up the remainder, at 17 per cent and 13 per cent respectively, she said.

Cimino told PAX that New Hampshire, like other states within the New England region, sees numerous visitors during autumn eager to view the changing colours of the trees, with sightseeing and outdoor activities being the top draw for Canadians to the state. However, she added that Canadian travellers are coming year-round, with summer drawing just as many tourists as the fall; in addition to scenery and the outdoors, she said Canadians are coming for the state’s beaches, as well as New Hampshire’s lack of sales tax.

“Canadians love our beaches – all 18 miles of our coast,” she said, referring to the shortest ocean coastline in the U.S. “Shopping is also a major activity for Canadians, since we’re sales tax free.”

Getting there

Porter Airlines flies seven times daily from Toronto to Boston Logan Airport, located one hour from the New Hampshire border, Cimino said. By car, she said that New Hampshire is approximately an eight-hour drive from Toronto.

PHOTO: Kris Neilsen, communications manager & Victoria Cimino, director, New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development; Meg Gowan, membership & marketing, White Mountains Attractions Association