Travel Destinations Promoting EV Charging Stations to Draw Tourists

Tourism destinations are learning that electric vehicle charging stations present opportunities to attract visitation, especially to rural and underserved areas. “It would almost be like passive tourism,” said Visit North Carolina Director Wit Tuttell. “They needed to charge, they stopped and then they realized what a cute town it was and then they bring their family back,” said Cassandra Harrington, executive director of This Is Cooperstown, the destination marketing organization for Cooperstown, a rural village in New York with multiple charging stations, one of which is at its National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. By placing them at the hotel, restaurants, national parks or attractions, travelers on the road — who otherwise would stop at a gas station — can be lured into the destination because of the available charging stations, according to Matt Berna, president of Intrepid Travel.