PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – State tourism officials are eyeing an untapped gold mine of New Hampshire presidential primary tourism.

“I think there’s an opportunity to capitalize on some of these political junkies who hear about the New Hampshire primary,” state tourism spokeswoman Victoria Cimino said at a recent tourism summit in Portsmouth.

Cimino said the state already is working on a plan to attract political junkies intent on catching a glimpse of big-name contenders, Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain and former Sen. John Edwards, and others and getting a taste of New Hampshire’s famously local retail politics.

The Division of Travel and Tourism is working with Yankee Magazine to develop a podcast that follows a fictitious presidential candidate stumping in New Hampshire They’re using a made-up candidate “So we’ll be able to tell the story without insulting anyone,” Cimino said to laughter.

The state marketing campaign also will target campaign staff and the media with a press kit providing ready-made video for television producers and location pitches for campaign stops, announcements and interviews. Cimino cited a New Hampshire Political Library statistic that found the campaigns spent $83 million in the 2000 primary season.

The 2008 New Hampshire primary will be the most wide-open race in decades. Although Secretary of State Bill Gardner has not yet scheduled the primary, a crowd of Democratic and Republican hopefuls have been visiting the state for months.

Businesses who promote themselves well during the campaign cycle could reap media attention, Cimino said. “We know that wherever the candidates go the media will follow,” she said. “The media cover the candidates, the issues and the state.”