Gov. Eliot Spitzer has announced plans to improve and expand the “I Love New York” tourism campaign to help foster economic development throughout the state. “A well-conceived and fully supported tourism campaign is an investment that will pay dividends for years to come,” Spitzer said.

“On the 30th anniversary of the iconic ‘I Love New York’ program, we are taking steps to bring new creativity and energy to state tourism promotion and to ensure that these activities encourage greater upstate tourism.”

As part of the effort, the Governor announced that:

- New York City-based Saatchi & Saatchi has been selected by Empire State Development to run the “I Love New York” campaign. Saatchi & Saatchi is one of the world’s largest advertising and marketing agencies; working with Saatchi & Saatchi, the state will make a special effort to identify opportunities to expand tourist promotion upstate, where tourism currently accounts for 12 percent of employment in some regions.

- The state will seek to expand promotion beyond traditional television, radio and print advertising to include “new” media, as 70 percent of all travel decisions are now made online.