Aaaaaaand the grand prize is: Six nights and seven days in the beautiful Virgin Islands!
That’s what the winners – and millions of TV viewers – of the popular game shows "Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy" and "Hollywood Squares" will hear starting Friday. The V.I. Department of Tourism, Martin Public Relations and several hotels in the territory have arranged for vacation packages for two to be given away as grand prizes on the widely watched shows.
"Wheel of Fortune" will feature St. Croix’s Buccaneer Resort, Wyndham Sugar Bay Beach Club and Resort on St. Thomas and the Westin on St. John. The Westin package will be the first of the resorts to be featured as a prize, on Friday at 7 p.m.
For the 2000 TV season, "Wheel of Fortune" had an estimated 15.1 million viewers per show, according to Tourism officials. "Jeopardy" and "Hollywood Squares" boast 12.3 million and 5.3 million viewers a season respectively.
Using the vacation packages as prizes augments traditional print and TV marketing strategies, said Acting Tourism Commissioner Pamela Richards.
"This is just one of our many ongoing public relations initiatives," Richards said. "Our PR agency aggressively continues to pursue these types of publicity efforts on behalf of the department."
Amy Atkinson, the territory’s account manager at Martin Public Relations, said using the V.I. as a prize package is something that had been done in the past but that had fallen by the wayside.
Along with the announcement of the prize on national TV, a short video profiling the hotel and island is also aired.
The value of the 10-second clips ranges from $22,400 to $42,000 and will include the names of the participating resort and airline, according to Atkinson.
"We get more bang for our marketing buck," she said.
Additionally, the effort hasn’t cost the Tourism Department any out-of-pocket monies. Atkinson said the participating hotels and airlines have donated their services and Martin’s work is covered by its contract with Tourism.
"We’ve worked with different game shows before," Atkinson said. "It really is a smart thing to do."
"Jeopardy" contestants will have an opportunity to win a vacation on St. Thomas at either the Renaissance Grand Beach Resort or Wyndham Sugar Bay. Wyndham Sugar Bay will also be featured on "Hollywood Squares" and "The Price is Right."
Two weeks prior to their scheduled air date, participating resorts will be notified by tourism officials. Coverage is expected by the end of the spring season.
For another V.I. tourism story, check out what St. Croix’s homegrown NBA star Tim Duncan is up to.
