Among high-end pleasures to sample in Providence is this entry of moules and frites (mussels and potatoes) at a swank East Side restaurant.

The Providence Journal FILE

SMITHFIELD –– Fidelity Investments has been inviting Rhode Island tourism officials to Boston to sing the praises of the Ocean State to workers there being transferred here.

The program, designed to generate excitement among employees about their migration, provides information about the Rhode Island nightlife, restaurant scene and real-estate market.

“It’s helping them understand what the state of Rhode Island is about,” said Perry Chlan, a Fidelity spokesman. “It’s all geared toward helping associates understand where they’re moving to.”

By the end of the year, Fidelity plans to move 1,400 employees into a new building it is constructing in Smithfield. In addition to the Boston-based employees, that group will include staff at the former American Express building next to the Providence train station and at other buildings at the Smithfield complex.

David C. DePetrillo, director of the Rhode Island Division of Tourism, said his staff was helping convince Fidelity employees that an exile from Boston was no reason to leave the company.

“They want to retain as many workers as possible,” he said. “They want to make sure that people realize that [Rhode Island] is a great place to live and work.”

Tourism officials, including Jayne Panarello, have participated in at least three sessions in Boston since Feb. 28. In the past, Fidelity has held similar events in Providence for its Boston-based employees, organizing information sessions at the Westin Providence hotel and downtown tours.

“Whenever they call, we’re happy to do it,” DePetrillo said. “They’re an important company.”

Fidelity, a Boston-based mutual-fund company, constructed its first building in Smithfield about a decade ago. It now houses several divisions in Rhode Island, where it has been given generous financial incentives to expand.

In 1996, the state bought 350 acres in Smithfield and leased it to Fidelity for 25 years. At the end of that period, the company will own the property. As part of the agreement, Fidelity’s lease payments decrease as the company increases its Rhode Island work force.

In 2002, the state took an additional 40 acres along Route 7 in Smithfield by eminent domain. The state issued $10 million in bonds to acquire the property, and then leased it to Fidelity for 25 years.

In 2005, at Fidelity’s urging, the General Assembly approved a tax break for high-income workers. A year later, the company broke ground on a third building in Smithfield, a 577,000-square-foot structure that will be the largest office building in the state when it opens later this year.

Fidelity had 2,200 employees in Rhode Island at the end of last year, making it the state’s 13th-largest employer, according to state Economic Development Corporation data.

It is the largest source of revenue for the state-owned convention center in Providence.