The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Tourism growing, has room to grow more
State travel chief speaks at Lake Erie Shores & Islands
Tourism is a $43 billion dollar a year industry, but there still is room for local businesses to grow by working with Ohio’s tourism agency, said the state’s travel and tourism chief.
On April 5, Matthew MacLaren, director of TourismOhio, was keynote speaker for the 2018 annual meeting of Lake Erie Shores & Islands.
The convention and visitors bureau oversees travel and tourism promotion for Erie and Ottawa counties. About 180 people came out for the meeting at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Huron Township.
MacLaren and Larry Fletcher, president of Lake Erie Shores & Islands, talked on the facts, figures and personal touches of tourism in Ohio.
In 2016, Ohio had 212 million tourism visits, up from 207 million the year before.
Visitor spending hit an estimated $43 billion, supporting 427,000 jobs across Ohio’s 88 counties, they said.
TourismOhio is part of the Ohio Development Services Agency. To attract new visitors, the division is in its second year focusing its efforts on “Ohio: Find it here.”
The brand focus “is to inspire meaningful, deep connections and memories through Ohio’s activities and attractions.”
“It reinforces the joy, happiness and excitement people experience in Ohio,” according to the agency.
MacLaren’s presentation included a commercial used in Ohio’s spring advertising to attract families planning trips for this summer.
He noted it includes footage of the roller coasters at Cedar Point and a family enjoying themselves in Marblehead.
“We know that tourism to Ohio involves the lake and we’re happy to be promoting it in our commercial and so much else of what we do,” MacLaren said.
The commercial has begun airing in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana and Michigan, MacLaren said.
“Just like you have see the ‘Pure Michigan’ commercials, I’m very proud to say Michigan has to see our ‘Ohio: Find it here’ commercials,” he said, prompting applause from the audience.
Ohio Tourism Day is May 9. MacLaren noted there are at least five ways Ohio businesses can connect with people who want to visit the state.
• Promote events and destinations by creating free listings at Ohio.org.
• Join the an advertising cooperative through Ohio. org.
• Work with TourismOhio to promote the biggest events.
• Sign up for BuckeyeLine, the monthly industry newsletter.
• Boost a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Partnerships are essential for the industry, Fletcher said. Lorain and Lake counties, along with
the other Lake Erie coastal counties, have begun Tour the Shore, a trip that someone will win with overnight stays in all the counties.
There also is a Coastal Ohio Trail app with events stretching from Ashtabula County to Lucas County, Fletcher said.
Ohioans who have a good experience in the home state also should promote those on social media, MacLaren said.
Working for hotel and lodging industry groups, MacLaren said he spent the last three years working in Washington D.C., but Ohio’s welcoming people made him want to return.
MacLaren drove home the point with a photo of a father and his schoolage daughter, dressed like
a princess, with the giant pumpkins featured in the Circleville Pumpkin Show. The picture is featured in an advertisement branded with “Ohio: Find it here.”
“I have two young daughters that love to dress in princess dresses,” he said. “And when I saw this ad, this magical moment, a daughter in a princess dress surrounded by pumpkins at the Circleville Pumpkin festival, as big as she is, I knew that I wanted to raise my family here, I wanted to be in Ohio.
“That’s what we’re trying to do in all of our ads, trying to connect those people that see them with moments, with emotions, that make them want to be in the state of Ohio,” MacLaren said.