'Meet Minneapolis' Finding Unique Ways To Attract Tourists

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- So the weather as of late hasn't exactly been alluring to everyone. That's why tourism groups have to think outside the box to bring visitors to the Twin Cities this time of year.

In fact, the group "Meet Minneapolis" is starting a new push tomorrow to ramp up regional tourism. And they have some deals that save hundreds that locals can actually cash in on too.

The sights and sounds of the biggest city in the upper Midwest may be familiar to you, but not to everyone.  Jenna Wiebke from Caldonia is visiting Minneapolis with her family.

"It's really different from where we come from, we're from a small town and it's just big," Wiebke said.

Enjoying skyline scenes is also uncommon to another traveler we found, Emily Zettler from loyal Wisconsin.

"We come from a small city so the big buildings, that's different," Zettler said.

Something she and her family find familiar: The infamous conditions.

"We drive in it all the time, central Wisconsin, not that big of a deal," Judi Zettler, her mother, said.

Turns out these weekend visitors are just the crowd Minneapolis visitor's association is after.

"Our visitor research shows that a 300 to 400 mile radius of Minneapolis is the target market for us, so people drive in from Winnipeg and Fargo and from Des Moines and other places that are basically in the same type of weather region," Kristen Montag, who works with the "Meet Minneapolis" Tourism Association, said.

In an effort to get people downtown, they're going as far as to give people a brand new car: You can take your chance to win here.

They plan to give away the car at the Twin Cities Auto Show planned for March, another attempt to recruit regional visitors.

"We actually have a whole range of public shows and they actually bring thousands and thousands of people into the building and we also try to encourage them to staying downtown and making a weekend of it." Montag said.

They've also worked out cut-rate deals. While available, the Hilton Hotel is just $79 for a room in January. You can book that here.

That's where these Hortonville, Wis., visitors, the Bricks, are staying on their trip.

"There's museums you can go to," they said.

They're people who know that even if you are frozen, you don't have to stay put. The sweepstakes for the car starts Monday morning. It's open to locals, the cut-rate hotel deals are open to anyone as well.

We've got a link to that on our website and a list of winter activities in St. Paul    l and Minneapolis  .