Mayor Barlow announces new effort to increase tourism in Oswego | Oswego New York Skip to main content

Mayor Barlow announces new effort to increase tourism in Oswego

City of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow has launched a new tourism initiative in Oswego to complement the improvements currently taking place in Oswego’s downtown and along the Oswego and Lake Ontario waterfront.  The initiative consists of updated literature and new, five tri-fold marketing brochures highlighting key targeted areas (Downtown, Entertainment, Fishing, History and Maritime) to be used to generate economic activity and increase tourism.  The strategy divides Oswego tourist attractions into different categories in an effort to more strategically target a particular audience based on the type of activity and develops a new sub-branding for promotional purposes.  The new initiative was funded through a $45,000 Brownfield Opportunity Area grant awarded by the New York State Department of State through a cooperative partnership with Oswego County to highlight Oswego’s reviving downtown, fishing, history, entertainment attractions, maritime and waterfront activities and a unique weekend itinerary concept to encourage extended stay visitors.  The new literature will be distributed by the City of Oswego Promotion and Tourism Advisory Board (PTAB) in early December.  Mayor Barlow also announced the release of the Oswego 2018-2019winter rack card developed by PTAB. 

“We need to do a better job highlighting our natural assets, promoting our rich history and showcasing all the unique elements our community has to offer.  We are not the same community we were three short years ago and I fully intend to spread that message”, said Mayor Barlow.  “This strategy is a different strategy that has never been used in this community before and I believe can make a real difference in our efforts to boost tourism and effectively promote our reviving community.  We have strategically highlighted different themes within our City and plan to develop a specific, targeted audience to maximize our efforts and ensure we increase our reach and efficiently tell our story”, Barlow concluded. 

Mayor Barlow first announced his intention to place tourism at the forefront of his administration’s priorities in his 2018 State of the City Address back in January.    The City of Oswego won Governor Andrew Cuomo’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative, became host to NAPA Super DIRT Week at Oswego Speedway, has completed multiple waterfront revitalization projects, expanded their summer concert series along the Oswego River and is home to Harborfest, a City-wide annual festival the last week of July.  Barlow also cited the recent revival of the City of Oswego softball program and efforts to designate the Fort Ontario complex to the National Register of Historic Sites as additional reasons to focus on promotion and tourism.  

 

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