Thinking of getting away this summer? Hope you like your home state

States have a tourism problem — so they’re pitching themselves to their own residents.

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Thinking of getting away this summer? Hope you like your home state

Your local tourism board has a message for you: Please don’t leave us. 

Summer is vacation season, but traveling across the country isn’t looking so hot right now. That Honolulu retreat? Make sure to budget 14 days of quarantine into your plans.

Everyone’s tourism economy is hurting, but state governments think they have a solution: Rather than fill up hotels with outsiders, they’re looking within.

States are really feeling themselves

Brace yourself for the marketing blitz. 

Maine whipped up a virtual guidebook to introduce residents to overlooked hotspots close to them. The Green Mountain State has an official “Restart Vermont” campaign that is trying to draw residents out to places like Lake Champlain.

Wyoming’s tourism arm ran an ad begging residents to support local business, and Travel Oregon is pushing people toward local parks and museums. 

If your home state is… let’s face it, a bore… there’s another option: Build a treehouse, buy a trampoline, and get ready for vacation in your backyard.

When it comes to travel, everyone’s getting cliquey 

While US states are fussing with their own looks, some countries are sliding into the DMs of their hippest neighbors to form “travel bubbles.”

Essentially, travel bubbles are relaxed borders — tourists can move in and out without a mandatory self-quarantine. Australia and New Zealand have one, and so do a few others:

  • The Former Soviet Power Trio: Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Croatia
  • The Baltic Bubble: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
  • The Mediterranean Mix: Greece, Cyprus, and Israel 

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