ACT announces development of new visitor guide

    CARIBOU — After reviewing several proposals the Aroostook County Tourism board has chosen TDG Communications, Inc., a Deadwood, S.D.-based firm to create a new visitor guide for Aroostook County. The company has produced many similar guides and directories for tourism and civic organizations across the country.     The previous guide, produced three years ago, is in need of updating and reprinting, board members said. Copies of the guide are distributed throughout the county, at trade and travel shows, sent via mail to inquiries and available for immediate download on the www.visitaroostook.com Web site. Copies of the previous guide are nearly gone as the organization distributes them on a consistent basis.
    “We use these guides to inform and entice potential visitors to Aroostook County,” said Leslie Jackson, the new tourism marketing specialist for Aroostook County Tourism. “The last guide was very successful, almost all of the copies are gone, but it needs to be updated before we re-print.”
    It is important to get all of the business listing information updated, she noted. Businesses can go to www.tdgcommunications.com/guidelisting.html to update their own listing in the visitor guide. This ensures that the information is correct and the business is not left out of the listings. Business listings are free and will cover professional guides, accommodations and camping, dining, arts and culture, recreation and natural resources, events and rental facilities. Businesses and organizations that fit these categories should be sure to go online and get their listing information entered.
    Jackson also noted that industry partnerships are vital to the success of the guide. Although ACT receives a grant for partial funding for the guide from the Maine Office of Tourism, advertising plays an important role in the success of the guide and she encourages every business to consider advertising.  Thirty thousand copies of the guide will be printed and distributed over the next two years in addition to tens-of-thousands of free and immediate downloads from the Web site, giving advertisers a great amount of exposure to potential and returning visitors.  Businesses wishing to advertise may go to www.tdgcommunications.com/guide-payments for more information or to purchase an ad online. Or they can call TDG Communications at 605-722-7111, or e-mail nyla@tdgcommunications.com.
    “We are looking forward to a great tourism season in 2009,” Jackson said. “I’m excited to be a part of the tourism industry in Aroostook County. I really appreciate the support of David Spooner and the Northern Maine Development Commission. Their expertise will be invaluable as we grow and expand our market. We are starting to see new businesses moving to the area and with these new businesses will come new visitors and revenues and this visitor guide is just one of the ways we are continuing to support that growth.”