Virginia tourism officials today unveiled a new marketing campaign titled "Virginia is for Lovers -- Live Passionately."

The Virginia Tourism Corporation's new campaign is using what it calls "passionate Virginians" to help sell vacationers on the Old Dominion's attractions. They include an oyster-shucking champion, the owner of a "gourmet dog bakery" and a surfing instructor, among others.

Seven Virginians will be featured in ads in national and regional magazines and 11 will be featured in 2-minute online videos in which they describe their personal passions and share insights on Virginia travel destinations.

Those videos will appear on the state's official travel Web site, Virginia.org.

"They represent the state, they represent you," said Alisa Bailey, president of the tourism corporation, as she unveiled the campaign here during the annual conference of statewide tourism officials. "They summon travelers to live passionately."

However, the corporation can't afford to run television ads out of state this year, said Bailey.

Budgetary restrictions come even as the state's tourism industry can use as much advertising as it can get: Gas prices and the slow economy have led to a flat tourism economy. Tourism is an $18.6 billion yearly business in Virginia, responsible for 210,000 jobs and up to $1.2 billion in state and local tax revenue, according to corporation statistics.

The Virginians featured in the Live Passionately publication campaign are described as: