Asheville Chamber releases ‘Christmas Cat’ video to promote holiday tourism

Asheville tourism officials are counting on the cuteness of cats to help promote the town as a holiday tourism destination this year.

They released a video Dec. 4 urging viewers on YouTube to “watch as festive felines travel to Asheville, North Carolina to help deck the halls at Biltmore, judge award-winning gingerbread houses at The Omni Grove Park Inn and walk in a Winter Lights wonderland at the N.C. Arboretum, plus visit the Gray Line Trolley Tours of Asheville, Wicked Weed Brewing, the historic Grove Arcade, Hip Replacements and, of course, the downtown drum circle.”

In the past, tourism officials have released other promotional videos around the holidays such as “Breakdancing Santa.

This year’s starring cats were provided by the Asheville Humane Society. Watch the video embedded via YouTube here:

Video produced by the Asheville Convention & Visitors Bureau with Amplified Media.

 

 

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

About Jake Frankel
Jake Frankel is an award-winning journalist who enjoys covering a wide range of topics, from politics and government to business, education and entertainment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

6 thoughts on “Asheville Chamber releases ‘Christmas Cat’ video to promote holiday tourism

  1. Lin

    I don’t normally comment but this is really the stupid thing I have seen. It isn’t even clever.

  2. Dionysis

    I’ve owned cats for decades. I have several right now. I am a cat person. But this is among the dumbest, most unoriginal and (almost certainly) ineffective PR stunts I’ve ever seen. Good luck with this as it will be very much needed. I sense a catastrophy ahead.

  3. Zarathrusta

    It’s cute, not clever. After all, most tourists prefer cute to clever, and some just don’t get “clever.”

    • Dionysis

      That is true, but dressing cats up in Christmas garb has been done for decades now all over the place. There is no particular connection between cats and Asheville. If they’d used Brevard’s white squirrels trying to hitch a ride into Asheville to shop, or perhaps used bear cubs in some ‘cute’ manner, it would make some sense. But a scenario whereby a man says “Honey, I know I promised to take you to either Disney World or Madison Square Garden for the holidays, but that was before seeing that cute cat video. I’m taking you to Asheville” seems a bit unrealistic.

Leave a Reply to Jason W. ×

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.