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We might not have sandy white beaches or vast oceanfront views, but vacationing right here in Des Moines might be one of the best options this summer, especially when taking into account soaring gasoline prices, a lack of discretionary money and, of course, all of Des Moines’ very own attractions.

“Des Moines is a great city, and you don’t need to leave the city to have a great experience,” said Sally Dix, vice president of communications for the Science Center of Iowa.

To capture this experience, the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) just recently jumped on the buzzword bandwagon and launched a three-week promotion outlining the ideal summer vacation scenario – a “staycation.”

Partnering with local attractions such as Adventureland, Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, the Science Center of Iowa and Iowa Speedway, CVB is hoping to stimulate the local economy and encourage people to take advantage of Greater Des Moines’ own tourism hotspots while saving money.

“The staycation concept really fit perfectly with what we do here,” said Greg Edwards, president and CEO of CVB. “The whole terminology and idea came about because of gas prices. For years, trends have shown that people are staying closer to home for vacations; they’re doing mini vacations versus years ago when people would literally take two weeks off.”

The idea of staying close to home and enjoying a “staycation” rather than a vacation is a phenomenon that is happening nationwide. Over the last couple of months, articles in CNN, USA Today and MSNBC have described corporate executives, moms and families spending precious vacation hours in backyard sanctuaries or in a tent at a nearby campground rather than hopping on airplanes and traveling across the country.

“I think people are really cautious right now of what they’re spending their money on,” Edwards said.

“We are very sensitive to human needs and people’s need to keep discretionary dollars to themselves,” said Mike Beecher, director of media relations for Iowa Speedway.

Bill Fisher, director of marketing for Adventureland Park, echoed Edwards and Beecher about more people watching their spending. “As long as the cost of transportation continues to rise and kind of be a sticker shock, we are certainly going to let (people) know that they don’t have to go to all ends of the earth to have fun,” he said.

And that is just what CVB hopes to accomplish with the new promotion – letting people know that vacation options exist here in Des Moines. A family could even go stay in a hotel somewhere in Des Moines and still make it feel like a vacation away from home, Edwards said.

“You figure, even if you’re staying home you still have to buy groceries and run kids around and do things that you’re always going to be spending money on,” Edwards said. “So why not just tailor it from doing the things you’re normally going to do, to be doing some fun things.”

Aside from saving local residents money this summer, Edwards also talked about the impact that “staycationing” could have on local businesses, noting that most small businesses rely heavily on local traffic.

“Any new dollars coming into their establishments – they’re great with it,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we see great results and more people spending money in our local businesses and staying home for their “staycation.”

The promotion

The campaign has been developed to include a 30-second television advertisement that will be shown on local cable channels, as well as a radio advertisement that will air on local radio stations. Both of these advertisements will promote the participating partnerships and the different attractions that Des Moines offers.

“The campaign itself is just really fun,” Edwards said. “It shows Greater Des Moines as a fun, vibrant, safe place to bring your family. Maybe (viewers) will see a clip of some of the major attractions and that will spark something in their mind and spark them to do something.”

Though CVB funded the majority of the campaign and produced the commercial, the content for the commercial was determined by each individual partner, based on the amount of money each wanted to invest in the promotion. “We divided up (the commercial) by time and allocated who wanted to have how many seconds and that determined how much we wanted to spend,” said Jeff Nelson, director of marketing for Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino.

This is the first time CVB has invested this much financially promoting Des Moines to existing residents. Furthermore, the money that was generated from the partnerships allowed CVB to expand the advertising impressions.

A similar commercial aired in the Kansas City market earlier in the summer, and the Omaha market will air the commercial at the same time it airs in Des Moines. In total, the CVB spent $170,000 purchasing advertising spots in all three markets.

“On our own, it would be very expensive to go into these markets. But, by combining all of these efforts we can do a very nice commercial that is very well received,” Nelson said.

The campaign’s launch date is scheduled for July 7 and will air for three weeks. “It’s really great to see all the people who are competing for the same entertainment dollar, working together and building a home,” Nelson said.