Montpelier, VT - Vermont's Department of Tourism and Marketing has received approval to spend an additional $250,000 to promote winter in Vermont.

Legislative leaders and the Douglas administration authorized the Department of Tourism and Marketing to use the funds to help boost the winter season, which started off with mild temperatures and little snow. The money will be used for print, television and online advertising in New York, Boston and Montreal.

The additional money is coming out of the department’s summer marketing budget and will be spent by early March. To replenish the funds, the Legislature is expected to appropriate $250,000 for the fiscal year 2008 budget by the end of the legislative session.

“The unusually warm weather in December and early January had a negative affect on winter activities in the state,” said Department of Tourism and Marketing Commissioner Bruce Hyde. “The additional funds will allow us to continue to promote all winter activities, including snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and skiing.”

The advertising includes 30-second spots on NBC in New York, FOX and the CW in Boston, as well as select cable spots on CNN, Food Network, MSNBC and others. Advertisements will air at various times this month, including multiple spots during the Oscars.

Advertisements will also appear in the Boston Globe, Montreal Gazette, Boston.com, and other print and online publications.

The Department of Tourism and Marketing’s existing winter marketing campaign includes television advertisements aired in primary markets, which are produced in partnership with Cabot Creamery and the Vermont Ski Areas Association.