After a year long effort the Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission is pleased to announce the Today Show is scheduled to present a travel segment on family friendly vacations that will spotlight Chincoteague and Assateague Islands.
Currently scheduled to air Monday barring any pre-empts, the anticipated coverage of Chincoteague is estimated to be seen by nearly 5 million people and has an advertising value of approximately $ 225,194 according to Virginia Tourism Corporation's 2009 data.
The Tourism Commission first began courting the Today Show to feature the Eastern Shore as one of the mystery destinations on the annual "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" sending the show's producers an ES Suitcase and the Day in the Life of the Eastern Shore video, a Tourism Commission project produced by local company Ward & Associates.
The Today Show also received local wine, Shore products and the Seashore Chronicles: Three Centuries of the Virginia Barrier Islands by Shore authors Brooks Barnes and Barry Truitt.
Continual follow ups paid off and the Tourism Commission recently teamed up with the Virginia Tourism Corporation's Public Relations Director Richard Lewis, to provide the show video, still shots and information on the islands.
"We so often pitch ESVA stories and I would surely not have the necessary knowledge without the efforts of the Eastern Shore Tourism Director, "said Lewis. "In fact my most recent pitch to a freelancer writing for Southern Living included story ideas in Cape Charles, Onancock and Assateague Island."
As the Eastern Shore's sole regional marketing organization, the Tourism Commission is charged with promoting the Eastern Shore "You'll Love Our Nature" Brand through 154 media placement in 2009 alone including Southern Living Magazine, USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
This equates to millions of dollars of free advertisement for the Eastern Shore Tourism Industry.
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