With its two colleges, waterfalls, nature trails, and local eateries, Ithaca is one of the most popular tourist attractions in upstate New York. But even the Ithaca tourism board is tired of the snowstorms that have been pummeling the East Coast for the past few weeks.
So rather than try and convince people Ithaca is Gorges, the city’s tourism website is throwing in the towel. The website just posted the following greeting, telling potential tourists to skip the trip upstate and go to the Florida Keys instead.
“Due to this ridiculously stupid winter, Ithaca invites you to visit The Keys this week,” the site reads. “Please come back when things thaw out.”
For bureau director Bruce Stoff, the pop-up was a way to poke fun at the city’s current weather conditions. Since posting the message Sunday, Ithaca’s tourism site has gotten around 10,580 hits, compared to an average of 1,500 hits a day in February.
“This is a way for us to stay engaged with our customers at a time when upstate New York isn’t exactly top of mind,” he told the Ithaca Journal.
And Florida’s just happy for the free advertising.
Well, there goes my job. MT @CNNBrian: Due to cold weather, @VisitIthaca is encouraging people to visit Keys instead. pic.twitter.com/xTviCzf08W
— VISIT FLORIDA (@VISITFLORIDA) February 16, 2015
Photo via Ed Schipul/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)