Tennessee is giving away thousands of airfare discounts to travelers who book certain hotel packages in the state.
Dubbed "Tennessee on Me," the offer applies to stays in four Tennessee cities: Nashville, Memphis (Beale Street is pictured above), Chattanooga, and Knoxville.
The first 10,000 travelers who book at least a two-night stay at participating hotels in one of those four places will each get a $250 voucher to use toward flights at each city's respective airport, via American, Delta, or Southwest Airlines.
You must book your hotel package through TennesseeOnMe.com, where you can choose a destination city, browse the list of more than 60 participating hotels, and select your preferred airline.
Reservations must be made by September 15 for travel between July 11 and December 30.
At least one night of your stay in Tennessee must be Sunday through Wednesday, and you'll get one airline voucher per hotel booking, not per person.
According to Tennessee's Department of Tourist Development, the $2.5 million airline voucher program was included in the state budget recently signed by Gov. Bill Lee.
If there is a downside, it is this: As the Associated Press points out, Lee is backing this giveaway while declining to introduce the sorts of incentives other states have come up with to encourage residents to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
And Tennesseans could use some nudging—the state's vaccination rate has just barely cleared 50%.
Travelers considering visiting Tennessee might want to keep that in mind.
The Delta variant of the virus is capable of causing breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people, according to experts, and while those cases tend to be less severe, epidemiologists recommend wearing masks in crowded indoor spaces (like a live music venue in Memphis or Nashville, say) while you're in areas with low vaccination rates.
Having familiarized yourself with the risks, you can find out more about Tennessee's airline vouchers by visiting TennesseeOnMe.com.
