Missing municipalities

A Broward tourism brochure has no mention of six cities.

A Broward tourism brochure that encourages visitors to “lose yourself here” appears to have lost six of the county’s cities itself.

The cities are nowhere to be found in the Hello Sunny Visitors Guide and Map 2017, an omission that’s rankling North Lauderdale Commissioner Jerry Graziose, whose city is among the missing.

“I know that we have an identity problem and this only makes it worse,” Graziose said.

The other Broward cities missing from the brochure are Parkland, Lauderdale Lakes, West Park and the county’s two smallest: Sea Ranch Lakes and Lazy Lake.

None of the missing cities would be considered a major tourist destination. Under “top-rated North Lauderdale things to do,” for instance, TripAdvisor.com lists the Star of David Memorial Gardens Cemetery and Funeral Chapel.

But Graziose said the city has stuff that would interest tourists, including Hampton Pines Park and the 1,000-foot-long Wyland Wall — one of a 100 whaling wall murals painted by famed artist Robert Wyland — that adorns a portion of McNab Road.

“I am just looking for our fair share of the spotlight,” Graziose said. He plans to sponsor a city resolution urging tourism officials not to forget about the city in future promotional materials and maps.

While the map omits six cities, Graziose said tourism officials found room to include Fort Lauderdale Stadium, which hasn’t seen a spring training game since 2009, and Lockhart Stadium, which the financially troubled Fort Lauderdale Strikers moved out of

last year.

Stacy Ritter, CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau that publishes the brochure, said her office is willing to work with any city looking for increased publicity. Oakland Park, for instance, was not on the 2015 edition, but is on the 2017 version.

“Our mission is to build the destination,” Ritter said. “We encourage the cities to reach out to us … We don’t know everything that’s going on in the county.”

The bureau printed about 175,000 of the brochures for $17,594, or roughly 10 cents a copy. Ritter wasn’t sure whether there’s time to make any changes before the next printing.

Lauderdale Lakes Commissioner Beverly Williams, who said her city has “the best Jamaican restaurants in the county,” will be pushing for more attention for her city.

“I am upset about it,” Williams said of Lauderdale Lakes being left off the map.

Ritter said not every city has tourist attractions and some don’t want to be a haven for tourists. Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky isn’t offended her city — the same one that Ritter calls home — didn’t make it onto the tourism map.

“We have some nice restaurants, but we’re a residential area,” Hunschofsky said. “Parkland is not a tourism destination. I completely understand it, the choice they made.”