CARLSBAD -- The group that represents Carlsbad hotel owners expects to sign off next month on a $350,000 campaign to entice more tourists to stay in this coastal town.

"These are challenging times for the hotel industry and we do need to get going on a program," said Bill Canepa, board member of the Carlsbad Tourism Business Improvement District, as he discussed the proposed publicity campaign at a board meeting Monday.

The district's board voted 4-1, with board member Barbara Howard-Jones opposed, to draw up a six-month contract with the Irvine-based MindGruve consulting company. That contract is expected to be ready for the board's signature at its Dec. 15 meeting, and the publicity work could begin before the end of the year.

The $350,000 project will include a new logo for Carlsbad tourism literature, the creation of a "brand" identity for the city and some advertising, with a heavy emphasis on Internet Web site ad placement, the consultants said.

"We're really going to go heavily after families -- we think we can own the marketplace," consultant Chad Robley said, noting that the Legoland California amusement park is a big tourist draw.

He said customers would be targeted in unusual ways.

"This is not the time to do the traditional things that we've been doing in marketing and get away with it," he said.

Formed in January 2006, the tourism improvement district gets its money from a $1-a-night fee charged each time that a hotel room is rented. In October alone, the fee generated $65,099 for the district. This fee is in addition to the transient occupancy tax, or "bed tax," that the city of Carlsbad charges on hotel room use.

Carlsbad has 3,635 hotel rooms. New revenue figures compiled by the tourism district indicate that, despite the recent national economic troubles, the city is still filling more hotel rooms this year than it did a year ago.

There were double-digit gains in August and September -- an 11 percent increase for August and a 14 percent increase for September, when compared to the same period a year ago. However, the figure for October was only a 2 percent increase over last year, records show. Hotel operators said Monday that they are concerned about what 2009 will bring.

The new publicity campaign is something hotel owners have sought since the district was created, and money has been set aside for it. The initial focus will be on the January to June period -- the summer is typically already a busy time in Carlsbad.

Plans call for the campaign to become an annual effort.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com. Comment at nctimes.com.