State-funded $ 250 travel airline coupons spark criticism from both sides of the aisle | New

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$ 2.5 million program announced by Governor Bill Lee last weekend to offer state-paid airline tickets vouchers to tourists to Tennessee draws criticism from both sides of the aisle .

On Sunday, Lee and country music star Brad Paisley announced a nationwide marketing campaign offering 10,000 free $ 250 e-gift cards to tourists who purchase a two-night stay at select Nashville, Memphis hotels. , Chattanooga and Knoxville.

Lee, who will run for re-election next year, appeared with Paisley in a video announcing the program, playfully composing a jingle about the promotion.

Maybe you should say Tennessee on me, Lee said, pointing to himself. The states buy all these plane tickets and give them to whoever books two nights in a hotel room to come to Tennessee, so that’s Tennessee for me.

Tennessee on Gov. Lee, Paisley sang.

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The financing of the bonds comes from the General State Fund. The $ 2.5 million was approved by the state legislature earlier this year in a budget item listed as a marketing project. Details of the program were not revealed during budget negotiations. Key leaders in the legislature were not made aware of the program until it was announced.

Republican and Democratic leaders criticized the initiative on Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said in a statement Tuesday that he plans to ask the Lee administration and the Department of Tourism Development to provide more details to the legislature on such initiatives during the process. budget in the future.

It is particularly troubling that the promotion is limited to our large cities. At least two of those cities have exacerbated the economic crisis by instituting overly aggressive foreclosure policies, McNally said. It does not make sense to limit promotion to these cities when our rural areas have been hit as hard, if not more, by the economic crisis than these cities.

Under these circumstances, I would have preferred a more traditional approach to tourism development rather than direct transfers of Tennessee taxpayer dollars to mostly out-of-state recipients.

Lee announced the Tennessee on Me promotion just a day after the end of several federal pandemic unemployment programs serving 84,000 Tennessees. Lee pulled Tennessee from unemployment programs in May as businesses across the state struggled to find workers.

Democratic Senate Leader Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said the initiative sends a worrying message about Lees’ priorities.

It’s just outrageous, frankly, to see Tennessee taxpayer money sent to residents of other states when so many Tennessees haven’t recovered enough to take a modest vacation, let alone one that requires a ticket. plane, Yarbro said.

We have underfunded schools, underfunded health care, we have cut unemployment benefits prematurely. It is simply difficult to understand how this obviously scarce taxpayer dollars should be sent to help people who live elsewhere.

Tennessee’s curator Beacon Center criticized the program as an example of the government’s choice of winners and losers, due to the few cities included in the program.

While Governor Lee has done a good job balancing lives and livelihoods during the pandemic, it is absolutely a step in the wrong direction, said Mark Cunningham, vice president of strategy and communications for the Beacons. Centers. While this program is well intentioned, it is not the role of government to hand over our hard earned taxes to tourists who want to visit Broadway, Chattanooga Choo Choo, or Beale Street.

The governor’s office developed the program with the Tourism Development Department. Tourism partners from the four cities included in the program also contributed. Participating hotels were not paid to be part of the program, although the state has required hotels to offer discounts to participate, according to Amanda Murphy, a spokesperson for the department.

Tennessee on Me was created to drive tourism growth in markets that need it most and increase air travel at our four major airports, Murphy said. While much of the state experiences pre-pandemic or higher occupancy levels, challenges remain in our major cities that still feel the loss of international conventions, business and travel.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton R-Crossville has said the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic warrants an unconventional approach.

Coming out of the pandemic, it’s a little different because last year the hospitality industry lost hundreds of millions of dollars, Sexton told Main Street Nashville in an interview. It’s not a traditional approach to tourism marketing, but see if it has an immediate impact, when others may not have as much immediate impact.

Tourism is Tennessee’s second largest industry. In 2019, tourism generated $ 23 billion in domestic and international travel spending, which generated $ 1.92 billion in national and local tax revenues. Tennessee recorded more than $ 300 million in lost tourism revenue between March and December 2020.

This has never been done before, Sexton said. It’s a bit off the beaten track. It will be interesting to see if this actually works.

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