The Center is helping local leaders to put the Northeast Kingdom — a rural region comprised of Vermont’s Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties and known as the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) — on the map as a destination for visitors.

Tourism is a significant and growing part of the economy in northeastern Vermont, but the region competes in a crowded Northern New England tourism marketplace. As a region, the Northeast Kingdom has an established brand name but has struggled to market itself with consistency and clarity to reach both in-state and out-of-state travelers.

Enter “getNEKedVT,” a collaborative regional marketing initiative that invites locals and visitors to explore the region’s communities and landmarks and to set out on adventures ranging from hiking to music festivals, gallery viewing to brewery tours, wildlife watching to ice cream eating. The campaign’s name is a play on region’s “NEK” nickname.

To get the initiative going, the Center pulled together a regional group of Chambers of Commerce and non-profits concerned with tourism in the Kingdom. Together they created the Northeast Kingdom Regional Tourism Marketing Partnership to attract visitors to the Northeast Kingdom by packaging and promoting the collective visitor experiences the Kingdom offers.

In Summer 2019, with resources secured by the Center, the group launched the getNEKedVT regional marketing campaign. The campaign uses the hashtag #getNEKedVT and posts on Facebook and Instagram to generate social media buzz about the region and drive visitors to its website.

The getNEKedVT marketing campaign is intended to help the region make the most of recreation and tourism as an economic development strategy. It provides product development, effective marketing, and coordination to attract first time and repeat visitors to the region.