Tuolumne County Debuts ‘Healthy Pledge’ COVID-19 Marketing Effort
Sonora, CA – A new marketing campaign aiming to make visitors and residents feel more comfortable patronizing local businesses has launched.
Visit Tuolumne County (VTC) President and CEO Lisa Mayo explains that new program, called the “Tuolumne County Healthy Pledge,” highlights the commitment by local businesses to provide a clean, safe, and healthy environment for residents and visitors as businesses and organizations begin to reopen under further loosened COVID-19 restrictions.
The voluntary program and awareness campaign, free for county businesses to participate in, is intended to affirm and showcase their commitment to clean and healthy standards for their guests and employees to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Its guidelines reinforce state and local health order protocol and directives. So far, 15 businesses are listed on the VTC website as having taken the “Healthy Pledge.”
Businesses that decide to take part will be able to use and display a special logo icon indicating their vow to provide an environment and services that meet COVID-19 public health requirements. “It is an affirmation that we know what we need to do, we’ve done it and we’re ready to welcome people,” Mayo says. “It gives the visitor and residents more confidence to go to those businesses.” She specifies that there is no policing involved on the part of VTC.
She adds, “We have been on several webinars and the number one key factor that continues to be at the top of the list is that people willing to go where they feel confident that they are going to be surrounded by health, and safety [precautions] and a clean environment…we really want residents and visitors to see how really hard our businesses are working to make that happen for them.”
In anticipation of more businesses opening this weekend under Stage 3 recovery after Public Health Officer Dr. Liza Ortiz releases an updated order Thursday, scheduled to become effective at midnight Friday, Mayo shares VTC plans, once the order is out, to launch a new marketing campaign called “Wander Freely,” targeted to the “drive” market. This includes regional, state, and some borderline areas across state lines.
“A lot of people are hesitant to fly right now so the drive market…is where it’s at,” Mayo explains. Among the major destinations are state parks and Yosemite National Park, which is reopening most of its major attractions along with lodging and camping, albeit with restrictions, as reported here.
Moving forward, Mayo notes that visitors bureaus and tourism Industry members continue talking to each other to see and learn what other tourism markets are doing to remain informed, use best practices and be able to address whatever issues come up as local economies work to recover and reopen during the pandemic.
For more details about the “Tuolumne County Healthy Pledge” program and for businesses to sign up, click here.
