The Washington Tourism Development Authority has hooked a significant tournament for Washington this summer.

No, it’s not a softball or baseball tournament. It’s a fishing tournament.

“The WTDA has secured a stop on the Professional Redfish Series fishing tournament schedule,” reads a WTDA report to the Washington City Council. “This Series is based out of Florida. This is the first year that North Carolina has been involved with the tournament. Tournament officials anticipate more than 250 room nights being booked as a result of this tournament. Dates are August 25-28.”

The authority is busy with other tourism-related events and activities.

WTDA will host a familiarization tour for local hotel operators and staff April 19.

“This is an effort to showcase the area and its attractions to those working directly with the traveling public,” reads the report. A similar event was held several years ago to educate area innkeepers and their employees about what the area has to offer historically, culturally, recreationally and in other areas.

“We are actually going to go out to the Estuarium. We are actually going to go out to Rocky Hock (Playhouse),” said Lynn Lewis, the city’s tourism-development director, on Monday.

WTDA, Washington Harbor District Alliance, Washington-Beaufort County Chamber of Commerce and the City of Washington are partners in a project to focus on an inclusive branding campaign for Washington. A committee has been formed to explore development of that campaign.

“The committee is presently exploring offerings of agencies who do this type of work in the hopes of selecting an agency by May to conduct the necessary research and brand development,” reads the report.

The variety and number of upcoming events, projects and services are not that unusual, Lewis said.

“This is day-to-day operation for us. There are so many different components to what we do and that the public is not aware of,” Lewis said.

“A lot of what is taking place … has to do with the timing,” Lewis noted.

More than half of the visitors who visit the Washington Visitor Center each year do so from April through July, she noted.

The authority gets its funding from a 6-percent occupancy tax on lodging services provided in the city. For every $100 spent on lodging such as hotel and motel rooms, the city collects $6 in taxes. The city collected $255,280 in tax revenue from its occupancy tax during the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

State law dictates that occupancy tax revenues be used on programs intended to bring more people for overnight stays to areas served by agencies like the WTDA. Washington retains 3 percent of the occupancy-tax revenue for WTDA administration while the WTDA receives the balance.

This year, part of that money is being used to pay for billboards to direct people to Washington, including motorists using the U.S. Highway 17 bypass around the city. Advertisements touting Washington are appearing in Southern Living, Our State and Carolina Country magazines. The report notes that response to the ad in Southern Living is “very high.”