The Fonthill Museum

We’ve seen big cities like Chicago and even whole states test the waters of promoting tourism with foursquare. Now a smaller tourism group has put their hat in the ring: Bucks County, PA. They’re offering tips on the many attractions throughout their suburban-Philadelphia county and hoping to lure Philadelphians and New Yorkers out of the city to try a wine tasting, stay at a bed and breakfast or take the kids to Sesame Place.

They’ve left tips at venues all over the county and nearby areas, from museums and parks to restaurants and hotels. Most of the tips include a recommendation or an interesting fact, like this one at the Fonthill Museum in Doylestown:

Henry Mercer’s concrete castle home comprises 40 rooms and 18 fireplaces. Interior walls, floors, and ceilings display his unique handcrafted tiles. See if you can spot the alligator.

Bucks County is already a leader in using social media to promote their area, with active Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and Flickr accounts. Foursquare was a natural next step, especially in an area that is only a short drive from foursquare hotbeds Philadelphia and New York. The area has already seen a lot of checkin activity, especially at places like Sesame Place and Parx Casino.

Director of Marketing Paul Bencivengo is a foursquare user who got the idea to promote the county on foursquare when a friend saw his check in at a Mexican restaurant via Facebook, decided to try it out and later reported back that they loved it. Bucks County is hoping to capitalize on that viral nature of foursquare checkins to draw visitors’ Facebook and Twitter friends to the area.

In addition to providing the foursquare tips, Visit Bucks County is working with their member businesses to help them take ownership of their foursquare venue pages and start offering their own tips and specials. They hope that the tips they’ve provided will spur visitors to add their own tips as well.

I’d personally love to see more tips like this on foursquare. Most of them provide real value to foursquare users. What do you think of tourist organizations promoting their area on foursquare?

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