PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland is eagerly awaiting the return of tourists, according to a full-page advertisement that appeared in Sunday’s New York Times paper.
Travel Portland confirmed it purchased the advertisement and said, “After a year of encouraging visitors and locals to support small businesses here and from a distance, it’s time to issue an invitation to come back to Portland.”
The advertisement, which is a simple 23 lines of text, starts by saying, “You’ve heard a lot about us lately. It’s been a while since you heard from us.”
The statement goes on to say that some of what people have heard about Portland over the last year is true. Some is not.
It highlights Portland as a place of dualities and says the 12 bridges that cross the Willamette River throughout the city serve as a good metaphor for Portland.
“Two sides to the same coin that keeps landing right on its edge. Anything can happen. We like it this way,” the advertisement states.
Travel Portland said the ad is part of a campaign called “This is Portland,” which will advertise the city throughout the summer and encourage overnight stays at local hotels and short-term rentals. The campaign will run through August and will target leisure travelers in the West Coast cities of Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
While there has been some backlash on social media. Sam Adams said he hopes people will come to Portland and see for themselves.
“I think this ad is pretty clear: come see for yourself,” Adams said. “We’re not saying we’re done recovering. We’re not saying we don’t have issues to focus on, but we’re focused on them. The point of this ad is, come see for yourself. And, you know, the premise of the ad is born from recent polling that shows that Portlanders that have been in the central city in the past 30 days or so they were 22% more likely to say it was attractive than those who hadn’t been downtown recently.”
Tourists who spoke with KOIN 6 News said they’ve been enjoying the city and would recommend visiting here to other people.
Travel Portland also released a video advertisement. The video’s narration is the same as what’s printed in the New York Times advertisement. The video features more than 30 Portland chefs, store owners, athletes, performers, and artists.
“With an overdue and heartfelt reopening on the horizon, we are here to inspire and encourage these visitors — our fans — to book,” Travel Portland said in a statement.
They said they’re focused on bringing visitors, convention business, and the tourism industry’s economic impact back to Portland.
Below is the full text of the advertisement:
Some of what you’ve heard about Portland is true. Some is not. What matters most is that we’re true to ourselves.
There’s a river that cuts through the middle of our town. It divides the east and west. But it’s bridged — over and over again. Twelve times, to be specific. And that’s kind of a great metaphor for this city.
We’re a place of dualities that are never polarities. Two sides to the same coin that keeps landing right on its edge. Anything can happen. We like it this way.
This is the kind of place where new ideas are welcome — whether they’re creative, cutting-edge or curious at first glance. You can speak up here. You can be yourself here.
We have some of the loudest voices on the West Coast. And yes, passion pushes the volume all the way up. We’ve always been like this. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
We have faith in the future. We’re building it every day the only way we know how, by being Portland.
Come see for yourself.
Love,
