Currently, the trend in tourism is the package, where a site, such as a hotel, packages a room with tickets to local attractions and other experiences. The package creates ease for consumers and gets them to visit attractions. On Friday January 28 the Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted Joe Veneto, the nations foremost expert on tourism packages, as part of its annual Tourism Summit, held at Bistro 131 in New Philadelphia
As I look around the room at all the other counties here I cant help but remember how much of a collaborative effort tourism is, said Dee Grossman, director of the Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Along with all the other counties, we have many local attractions and partners here. Simply put, if you arent successful, we arent either, our success is dependent upon yours, and thats why we brought Joe [Veneto].
People want to save time, and more and more they are turning to packages to do so. Over the last few years people look for packages to do just that. If we dont get onboard and create packages to promote the area and bring in people, we will no longer be successful.
In 2009 tourism alone was responsible for more than 275 million dollars in income for Tuscarawas County. The success of the tourism sector is vital to the ongoing success of the county and continuing economic revival. Other counties that participated in the Tourism Summit included; Coshocton, Holmes, Wayne, Carroll, Guernsey counties, along with representatives from the cities of Marietta and Chillicothe.
Packages arent pizza provided by the hotel, packages are unique opportunities for partners to come together and create ways to come together and help each other while creating unique opportunities for visitors, said Joe Veneto, of Opportunities Unlimited in Quincy, Mass. Some of the most successful tourism sites utilize packaging to create unique opportunities for their visitors, one of the most successful is the Revolutionary Fun package from Colonial Williamsburg which packages theme park rides along with the historical site; they now sell more than ten thousand packages per year. The potential for packages is limitless.
I thought the tourism summit was a great way to pull together local businesses and attractions. It presented new opportunities to partner with other attractions that maybe wouldnt have been possible before, said Tammi Mackey, Fort Laurens site director. Fort Laurens and Zoar Village have talked in the past about partnering but the summit really sparked the initiative for Jennifer Donato [Zoar site manager] and I to plan partnered lantern tours and to look at other events that we could partner in.
Perhaps the biggest thing to come from the summit wasnt the creation of any packages, but a change in how Tuscarawas County will be marketed in the future. The CVB unveiled its new branding initiative for the county, replacing the original tagline of Escape, Experience, Enjoy with Small Towns Big Stories.
We feel this new tagline effectively captures what Tuscarawas County has to offer to our visitors, said Grossman. We worked with Grant Street Creative in the creation of a new general logo, in the shape of a stamp, along with several variations for dining, arts and entertainment and so forth. The old branding worked for the last several years but it is now time to move on and move forward.
