COTTAGE GROVE, Ore. — The City of Cottage Grove is hoping a new ad campaign that shows they offer more than just covered bridges can boost its local economy. The Chamber of Commerce kicked off the “Bridges And Beyond” campaign to showcase Cottage Grove’s other selling points like its murals, wineries and the city’s General Aviation Airport. Residents met with campaign organizers at the local airport Saturday morning to see one of Cottage Grove’s tourism focal points.
“We want to get the word out that people can fly here in their planes, land, go to lunch, see the museum and then go downtown,” Chamber member Dan Pimentel said, “Or they can come back and stay 3 or 4 days. Bring their family, bikes and see it all.” The campaign features a newspaper ad in Vancouver, Washington, promoting their airport along with other city attractions. “By connecting aviation and tourism, it’s a good way to get the tourism industry to understand they need to market to private aviation, private pilots by putting information about their local airport on websites and in their literature,” Pimentel said. Locals like Cindy Wheeldreyer said they are excited to see what comes of the latest campaign. “If we can capitalize on cultural tourism then we will add jobs to our community. People won’t have to drive 20 – 50 miles for work and they’ll be able to stay and live and work here in our community,” said Wheeldreyer.