Three visitors bureaus create new effort to attract tourism to our region

For The Plain City Advocate

The Logan, Union and Champaign County Visitors Bureaus announce a joint marketing initiative designed to attract visitors to the tri-county area.

The initiative, “Ohio’s Ramblin’ Road Trip,” includes retro-themed marketing initiatives including a Visitors Guide, website and Facebook page and a call for travelers to get off the beaten path and go back a bit in time.

The retro theme is designed to evoke feelings of nostalgia and memories of the simpler, more carefree times and places in our past. The marketing appeal invites visitors to linger and enjoy the comforts of small town hospitality at our wide variety of destinations.

The directors of the Logan, Union and Champaign County Visitors Bureaus are Nicole Daniels, Tina Knotts, and Sandi Arnold, respectively. Working collectively, the goal is to market the region as a premier Ohio travel destination for not only individuals and families, but for tour groups as well.

Union County Chamber and Tourism Director, Tina Knotts shared, “We firmly believe that the hometown hospitality of our counties is real and marketable, and that we have a wide array of great destinations. Further, the retro logo and illustrations capture the spirit of our area and distinguish us from other counties’ marketing efforts. By working in collaboration we believe that we can accomplish a higher-caliber marketing effort to bring tourism to Logan, Union and Champaign counties than we could promote and accomplish individually.”

Ohio’s Ramblin’ Road Trip currently includes a printed Visitors Guide that includes a fun map highlighting destinations throughout the tri-county region. Museums, nature preserves, wineries, historic shopping districts, local festivals, unique eateries, and many other places of interest and events are featured.

The group has also launched an interactive website, www.ohiosramblingroadtrip.com. Visitors to the site can click on pictured destinations and web links to collect further information for destinations throughout the tri-county area in order to plan their travel itineraries. An Ohio’s Ramblin’ Road Trip Facebook page connects potential visitors with information to plan their next visit to Logan, Union and Champaign counties.

The collective Visitors Bureaus revealed Ohio’s Ramblin’ Road Trip at the AAA Great Vacations Travel Expo in Columbus in January and will appeal to potential bus tour groups at the Heartland Travel Expo in Toledo.

Tina Knotts (Union County) said, “The reaction of the individuals and families in attendance at the AAA Travel Show was a great indication of the unique appeal of our retro marketing campaign. Visitors actually stopped to look at the retro logo, the large nostalgic posters featuring a suitcase-stacked 1952 Chevy ready to take the Ramblin’ Road Trip, and moreover, they asked about our destinations. Our mannequin, dressed in a crisp yellow cotton shirtdress, affectionately dubbed as Doris Day, was a tremendous attention-getter as she relaxed on an old steamer trunk holding our Visitors Guide.”

Our goal is to bring tourism and commerce to our region by inviting guests to come to Logan, Union and Champaign counties. The hospitality and welcome that our area businesses provide will surely complement our marketing efforts, thereby encouraging visitors to return to our area again and to tell their friends to take Ohio’s Ramblin’ Road Trip as well.

Posted by Staff Reports on Feb 18 2013. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.