It’s no stranger to snow and now Syracuse has been declared the “Official Home of Winter”.
It’s a major marketing effort by Visit Syracuse to boost tourism in Syracuse and Central New York during the winter months.
The local tourism group launched the effort today with a big kickoff including the arrival of “Mr. Winter” and all his belongings.
“Mr. Winter” was asked by NewsChannel 9 meteorologist Jim Teske why he picked Syracuse and not some other place like the Rockies or the Alps.
“You guys celebrate what I do. I go down South and my goodness it’s a disaster zone, you go up North to like Minnesota or Wisconsin and they have funny accents and act like I’m not there.”
While they’ve given the campaign a face the whole point is for the region to embrace the season and then boost tourism by getting Syracuse and Central New York on the minds of people in cities all over the country.
Holder, “When he goes to visit other places we actually have plans to send meteorologists there “Take Care of Winter” kits.”
Visit Syracuse plans to be in other places too like Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on Feb. 2 where they’ll be rooting for six more weeks of winter.
Holder says that the campaign is not just aimed at highlighting outdoor activities but to make people aware of indoor activities like shows and sports, museums and restaurants as well as craft breweries offered all over the region.
“It not only drives tourism it actually drives more satisfaction from our own local residents and more satisfaction from people considering us as a great place to live or to study or to retire,” Holder said.
If you’d like to learn a little more about “Mr. Winter” click here to see a video series he’s prepared.
