Moving away from individual campaigns that have sometimes pitted one city against another, Ventura County economic boosters are creating a group to promote countywide tourism.
Momentum for a collaborative marketing campaign was building before the Sept. 11 attacks, said Janel Huff, director of the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County, which hosted a tourism brainstorming session last week.
Leading the campaign through the economic collaboration will be Ed Robings, a cultural tourism advocate and former museum director.
"People like to stay at one place, unpack their bags and make short trips to other places--see the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, the Carnegie Museum in Oxnard and the Ojai Valley Inn, maybe catch a play or musical at the Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks," Robings said.
By early next year, he hopes to launch a Web site that would allow potential visitors to link to information about events in each of the county's cities.
