Need a stimulus package for your love life? New romantic campaign from Destination DC

Washington has another stimulus plan. This one is for lovers.

Tourism officials on Thursday launched a $200,000 initiative for the month of February that includes tapping  Dr. Ruth, the celebrity sex therapist, as the city’s honorary secretary of the “Department of Love and Relationships.”

Inspired by President and Michelle Obama’s “date nights“, which have spotlighted Washington’s restaurants and culture scene, tourism officials are using Ruth Westheimer to help promote the “stimulus plan” for the city’s tourism business.

Destination D.C., the city’s tourism arm, is launching a $200,000 campaign centered on date nights and Valentine’s Day that involves hotel deals, restaurant promotions and other specials, largely geared toward the regional market. They are billing the campaign as “Date Nights D.C.: A 28-Day Stimulus Plan for Love and Relationships.”

The campaign has a number of components to it, including a searchable “Create A Date” database which offers date ideas, a “Date Concierge” who will design and book each element of a date at no charge, a list of the city’s 28 most romantic spots and a number of themed packages.

Destination D.C. is promoting the campaign through online and radio ads, as well as with a Web site (www.DateNightsDC.org) dedicated to the promotion. They also will enlist the help of a celebrity, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, who is coming on as the city’s honororary “Secretary of the Department of Love and Relationships”.