Associated Press Published

West Virginia Will Use Truck Advertising To Promote Tourism

W.Va. Gov. Jim Justice speaks to a crowd gathered for a press conference Tuesday, June 4, 2019, at the Matheny Motors Truck Center in Mineral Wells, W.Va.

West Virginia is using tractor-trailer advertising to promote its “Almost Heaven” tourism campaign.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice announced the pilot program at a news conference Tuesday in Mineral Wells. The state Tourism Office will partner in the campaign with the West Virginia Trucking Association starting July 1. Images on the trucks include whitewater rafting, all-terrain vehicles and hunting.

Tourism Commissioner Chelsea Ruby says “we have to promote West Virginia as a vacation destination.”

Fourth-generation West Virginia trucking firm Matheny Motor is providing the first truck in the campaign. The truck will drive a daily route from Parkersburg to Beckley, Huntington and back. More trucks are expected to be added later.

Justice says the moving billboards will send “our message all over God’s green acres.”