With tourism numbers up across the county due in part to advertising and newspaper, magazine and television coverage of the area, the Tourism Partnership of Surry County voted Tuesday to pay for a co-op advertisement in “Our State” magazine.

The TPSC will pay $2,000 twice a year to run a full page co-op ad and representatives from “Our State” will sell smaller ads on the page to local businesses in the tourism industry, such as restaurants and hotels. The ads will run in the spring and fall editions of the publication in 2011.

Amy Hanson, chief operating officer with Surry Telephone Membership Cooperation, explained to the board that local residents who have video of area events and activities can send them to the company, which operates Surry TV. The local cable company offers a channel that is devoted to showing local content. She said the channel is devoted mainly to promoting local tourism and is an informational channel.

In other business, Chris Knopf, Surry County assistant county manager for Economic Development and Tourism, announced that the new Surry County Visitor’s Guide is ready for distribution. This year, 100,000 copies were printed. They will be taken to welcome centers across North Carolina and mailed out to those who request one while planning their visit to Surry County. The guides also will be placed in high traffic tourist areas across the region. The guides were paid for mainly through advertising and some funding from the TPSC.

Jessica Icenhour, director of tourism and marketing with the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and vice chair of the TPSC, said in June, she got 5,200 leads from the ads the partnership and the Mount Airy Tourism Development Authority ran in “O” magazine. In July, she has already had 141 leads, which are requests for visitors guides, from a click through on the Oprah Web site.

For the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the group decided to take on the task of locating the people who helped build the parkway. Icenhour suggested that everyone at the meeting go to www.blueridgeparkway75th.org to register their upcoming events on a calendar on that site.

Icenhour announced to the board that the celebration will be held at Cumberland Knob the weekend of Sept. 10 -12.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.