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http://www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/ADVISOR

City Cards, Passes Offer Big Savings

Source: CNN Travel Advisor

CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) -- Attractions in an increasing number of cities are collaborating more often than competing by offering a single discount pass or card good for a variety of local museums, historic sites and other tourist destinations.

The electronic cards or ticket booklets -- including Go Cards, CityPasses and Connect passes -- offer admission to a number of attractions at one price, for substantially less than what it would cost to pay admission to each attraction individually. Visitors who have the passes can also usually avoid the long lines to buy tickets.

"I think more attractions, hotels and restaurants in Cincinnati and other cities have come to realize in the last few years that separately they may be strong, but collectively they can be great," said Scott Usitalo, interim executive director for the Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network serving Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.

Connect passes will be available in Cincinnati and Salt Lake City later this year. The company that produces them, Omniticket, is negotiating with convention and visitor bureaus in three other major cities.

The company began offering the Baltimore Harbor Pass in 2003 and sold 12,000 of them the first year.

Beginning this summer in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, visitors will be able to go online and print a paper version of the card, which can be exchanged later for a plastic version. The cards bear a bar code to be scanned at participating locations, such as the Newport Aquarium and the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Go Cards are sold in Boston and San Francisco, and the company is entering more new markets over the next three months, including Orlando, Seattle, San Diego and Chicago.

Mark Smith, 41, of Saugerties, New York, said the Go Boston Card was a hit with his family last summer.

"I could do the planning online, and we were able to do a lot of things that we would not have even known about without the card and the information that comes with it," he said. "I think the card gave us about a 50 percent savings."

While Go Cards and Connect passes are becoming available in destinations that have not previously had multi-attraction discount cards, the concept of bundling attractions together and selling admission to all of them for one price is not new.

CityPass started in San Francisco in 1996 and now offers its discount booklet of paper tickets for attractions in eight other locations -- New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Chicago, Seattle, Hollywood, and Southern California (combining Anaheim and San Diego). In 2004, 2 million visits were made to attractions using CityPass tickets.

The newest CityPass is geared not to tourists visiting for a few days or a week but for people who want to sample Boston's attractions over a longer period. A new Boston CityPass enables users to go once to any of six museums and attractions over the course of a year. It's ideal for residents, college students and regional visitors to Boston who might make an annual visit to several different local attractions.

The Orlando Flex Ticket was introduced in 1998 by the makers of the Connect cards; it offers admission to several Florida theme parks including SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Universal Studios.

Discount cards are also available for attractions in some four dozen European cities.

Cards and passes can be purchased through the Internet, telephone, mail or at participating sites.

Roger Pille, spokesman for the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal, has high hopes for the city's forthcoming Connect card. The center includes a movie theater and natural history, science and children's museums.

"We have seen this concept work in other markets, and it gives visitors the opportunity to plan the exact trip they want with a variety of options," he said.

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