Tourism down in Va. town after Huckabee Sanders restaurant incident

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A Virginia tourism board is having to up its marketing budget after taking a tourism hit following negative coverage from an incident at a local restaurant.

The Hill reports the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia drummed up controversy after the owner refused to serve White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in June.

Protesters gathered outside the establishment in the days that followed, and some Republicans called for a boycott of the restaurant.

Soon after, the tourism office received thousands of emails and phone calls, including from visitors who vowed never to come back to the region.

That response has prompted the Rockbridge Regional Tourism board to spend an additional $5,000 per month to try and attract more visitors.

Corrie O'Connor