How many times have you driven past the Geauga County Tourism office in Middlefield and wondered what they do? The simple answer to that question is…a lot! The mission of the office is “to stimulate economic growth for Geauga County through year-round tourism.”
Does this actually work? Absolutely!
In 2009, $165.8 million in total revenue was generated by visitor spending in Geauga County, $11 million in State & Local taxes were generated and over 3,251 jobs were supported by Tourism. The bottom line: Tourism is a Revenue Generator!
How do we get these figures? Every year the state of Ohio conducts a study of “Tourism Economics” that tracks all of these measurable sources. Every other year, each county can receive reports on their individual numbers, so we will be receiving the 2011 numbers soon.
So how exactly does the Tourism office do this? The office is open six days a week to promote the county and encourage potential visitors through a wide variety of outlets.
- The Geauga County Visitor Guide: 95,000 are printed annually and distributed throughout the entire state.
- Our website: www.TourGeauga.com was built specifically for Geauga County with the capability to have each members add their information to keep it fresh & timely.
- Social Media Outlets: If you “Like” Geauga County Tourism on Facebook, and “follow” @MsGeauga on Twitter and sign up (via the website) for our monthly E-Newsletter you’ll stay informed!
- Walk in guests to the office: Last year we had visitors from 36 states & 12 foreign countries who signed our office guest book!
- Group Tours: Everyone loves a trip to Geauga County, last year we had over 135 motorcoach tours guided through the county.
You would thing that our office is only good for people who have never been to Geauga County, but the answer is NO!
We want people to stop in and see what we have to offer and think of our office as a resource to the community. It’s a great place to stop in for new ideas of great things to do right here “in your own backyard”. It’s always fun to have local residents stop in, pick up brochures and confess they had no idea some of these places were in their own community. The office is always happy to assist walk in visitors, answer questions and help with packets people might put together for family visiting the area, class reunions, or any other group event bringing visitors to the area.
As tough economic times and high gas prices continue to be a challenge, the fact that people are finding great day trips close to home ultimately helps our local economy. Be sure to stop in soon to just say hello and pick up your Geauga County Visitor Guide. As you go through the guide count how many photos of Maple Max you spot, send your guess by March 23rd to be entered into a drawing for a fabulous “Geauga County Get-A-Way Basket!!!
Who is Maple Max? Well… that’s a question for our next story…
