Long Island Releases Tourism Merchandise
Long Island, NY, is now tapping into community pride and increasing regional tourism with its own line of swag.
Residents and visitors of Long Island can now advertise their appreciation of the area with branded merchandise, including T-shirts, tanks, slide sandals and headwear, thanks to Discover Long Island, the area’s official tourism agency.
The organization says demand for locally branded apparel and accessories grew after the agency launched its “BeLONG on Long Island” marketing campaign in the spring; the new e-commerce shop opened this week.
Triblend unisex T-shirt with 1-color screen print.
Unisex muscle tank with a screen print in rainbow colors.
“We were inundated with requests for Long Island-branded attire and merchandise,” Kristen Jarnagin, president and CEO of Discover Long Island, said in a company statement. “We immediately recognized the need to align with other Long Island retailers to offer visitors and residents the opportunity to proudly wear their love for Long Island and to enjoy unique and locally sourced Long Island products, ultimately building local pride in the beautiful place we call home.”
Unisex slide sandals.
Rainbow-colored sunglasses celebrate World Pride.
PopSocket with Discover Long Island's signature wave graphic.
To that end, Discover Long Island has simultaneously partnered with locaLI bred, a subscription box company on Long Island that sends out locally made products. The first co-branded box from Discover Long Island and locaLI bred, slated to ship next month, will have eight fall-themed items from local artisans; a few randomly chosen recipients will also receive a piece of Discover Long Island merchandise.
The subscription box will include items from Long Island artisans and swag from the new line.
“Discover Long Island’s mission is very similar [to ours],” said locaLI bred co-owner Haile Geller. “They want to get people thinking about Long Island as a destination where things are always happening, as a cool and awesome place to be. Being able to do our part to support that, for us, [is] very special.”
Discover Long Island is a nonprofit that receives most of its funding from a hotel and motel “bed tax” in Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as from dues from 800 members. The merchandise proceeds pose an additional “potential revenue stream,” according to the organization. The State of New York reports that tourists spent $5.8 billion there in 2017, a number that’s steadily increasing.
Distressed ball cap made of 100% cotton.
Beanie with faux leather imprinted patch.
Leveraging people’s pride in their communities is a prime opportunity for distributors to launch product collections that complement tourism efforts. Last month, the Nebraska Tourism Commission released a line of branded items with the tagline “Nebraska. Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” And last spring, Travel Michigan released Pure Michigan swag to promote tourism.