Island time
Galveston, oh Galveston! Island's new throwback tourist campaign brings musical surprises
Romantic beach sunrises, bird watching, roller coaster rides, grand historic property tours, raucous parades and laser-lit dance parties: This is the Galveston portrayed in the island's new tourist campaign video, set to the country song popularized by Glen Campbell in 1969.
Galveston has rebounded significantly since Hurricane Ike tore through in 2008, and the new video pays homage to that event with gratuitous shots of the sculptures carved from some 40,000 trees lost in the storm.
"The 'Galveston' song is so iconic world-wide, and to many people, it is already considered an anthem for the island," Melody Smith, marketing director for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in a statement.
The CVB has purchased the rights to the song and added "an upbeat, modernized" touch to the tune.
"With Galveston re-emerging as a top travel and cruise destination, we thought it only fitting to draw on our roots and embrace this song within our marketing efforts."
The visitors bureau points to a steady rise in tourism and increased "destination status" visibility over the past few years, with new family amenities and a newly-thriving downtown historic district in The Strand.
The CVB has purchased the rights to the song and added "an upbeat, modernized" touch to the tune, initially written by Jimmy Webb as an anti-war anthem. Watch the video above.
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