BuckeyeLine

A Message From State Tourism Director Amir Eylon

A First Quarter Progress Report on Change and Opportunity
As I sit here writing this month’s message, it is almost 70 degrees and mostly sunny outside, a true hint of the upcoming spring season. The forecast for the rest of the week, however, has highs in the mid- to upper-30s with rain and possibly snow. This is the perfect reminder that change is a constant.

Last month, I discussed change and the opportunities that change can often bring. I was delighted to hear from industry partners sharing their own recent changes and support for our changes and our efforts to seek out new opportunities for partnership. I have also spent quite a bit of time on the road lately attending various industry and community gatherings. The initiatives I have observed range across the board – from the entrepreneurial partnerships of the new Furniture Expo in Holmes County to the educational partnerships formed from the Ohio Small Business Development Center’s recent regional Tourism Conference in North Canton. Across Ohio, I am pleased to report that the Tourism Industry’s resolve to grow through innovation is strong!

Chicago Media Mission Set for April 23-24

Ohio Travel Industry members with stories of interest to travel media in the Chicago market are invited to submit information and/or vie for a spot to participate in the Chicago mission. In order to keep the meetings meaningful, participation is limited to six Ohio Travel Industry members. To indicate your interest in participating in the mission, please complete the media mission questionnaire and return to Tammy Brown at tbrown@odod.state.oh.us no later than March 12. If you already completed a questionnaire for New York, just email Tammy to express your interest in participating in Chicago.

Accommodations Survey Reminder

The final mailing of the accommodations survey to statewide hotels, motels, resorts and campgrounds was completed in the last week of February. Returning your survey greatly increases the accuracy of our economic impact study. Please complete and return your survey in the pre-paid envelope that was included. If you need a survey, they are available for download from http://industry.discoverohio.com in the special features section.

2008-09 Fall/Winter Discover Ohio Calendar of Events Deadline April 25

To have your Ohio event considered for inclusion in the printed 2008-09 Fall/Winter Ohio Calendar of Events (50,000 quantity printed), please submit/update your information in the DiscoverOhio.com/Buckeye database by 5 p.m. on Friday, April 25.

Hold May 13 for Special Ohio Tourism Celebration

As you make plans locally to celebrate National Tourism Week this year (May 10-18), please consider holding May 13 to join the Division for the unveiling of Ohio’s new travel advertising creative. Plans are in the works for a press conference followed by an experiential display of Ohio’s outstanding tourism opportunities at the Statehouse. Watch for details (coming soon) about how to get involved!

2008 Ohio Travel Planner and Spring/Summer Calendar of Events Now Available

We are pleased to announce availability of the 2008 Discover Ohio Travel Planner, the state’s official travel guide, and the 2008 Spring/Summer Discover Ohio Calendar of Events. Bulk quantities of the free publications can be ordered online.

Division and Ohio Travel Industry Head to Heartland

Heartland Travel Showcase, the Ohio Travel Association’s regional group tour trade show, will be in Milwaukee, Wisc., March 7-9. Ninety-five Ohio delegates representing 86 entities will be in attendance in 65 Ohio booths to meet with tour planners. The Ohio aisles will be decorated with archways displaying the “Ohio…So much to Discover” and Ohio burgee flags. Celeste Krolak is scheduled to meet with 27 tour operators and her leads will be posted in the Group Tour section of Travel Buzz at www.DiscoverOhio.com/industry. Go to www.ohiotravel.org for more information on Heartland Travel Showcase.

(Photo caption: The Ohio Tourism Division maintained its presence with industry members at last year's Heartland Travel Showcase.)

Cleveland to Host African American Travel Conference April 8-10

Positively Cleveland will host the African American Travel Conference April 8-10. The African American market is one of the fastest-growing segments of group travel. The Division and representatives from Carousel Dinner Theatre, Cincinnati Museum Center, Experience Columbus, Greater Licking County CVB, Living Bible Museum, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Ohio Historical Society, Ohio's Appalachian Country, Positively Cleveland, Pro Football Hall of Fame, Ross Chillicothe CVB and Warren County CVB are scheduled to participate in meetings with tour planners to promote Ohio. For more information, contact Joe Cappuzello at (800) 682-0993 or go to www.aatconline.com by March 10 to receive scheduled appointments during the conference.

ABA Conference Update

Division leads from the 2008 American Bus Association Annual Marketplace appointments have been posted in the Travel Buzz section of the Industry Web site. The leads are available to download. Please visit the Industry site or click here to download the leads.

The 33-member Ohio delegation had a collection of productive sales appointments, quality booth time, educational seminars and a successful Dinearound during the American Bus Association Annual Marketplace in Virginia Beach, Va., Feb. 2-7.

The conference set records in every delegate category in the event’s 27-year history. The Division gained extra exposure by sponsoring Alf Nucifora and his series of tourism educational seminars and Experience Columbus sponsored a tour operator breakfast. In addition, 29 delegates hosted 19 professional tour operator guests for an Ohio dinner to further promote the Ohio group tour product to some of our top customers.

1-800-Buckeye Partner Days Available

Openings for the 1-800-BUCKEYE partner days are still available. Contact Eric Herzog for available dates and times. Partner days are an opportunity for Ohio tourism-related businesses to visit and provide training to the call center agents at 1-800-Buckeye. Partners get a two-hour block of time where they will conduct three or four short training sessions for the call center agents.

Promote Your Area in the DiscoverOhio.com Press Room

The Division offers interested Ohio destination marketing organizations the opportunity to provide travel media with information on your area in the DiscoverOhio.com Press Room. Industry members are encouraged to submit city/county information for the Online Press Room, to help the Division market the unique attributes of Ohio’s cities, towns and rural areas.

New York Media Mission a Success

The annual media mission to New York City was a resounding success this year. Five Ohio Travel Industry Members (Susan Fryer, Greater Licking Co. CVB; Bob Ulas, Lake Co. VB; Samantha Fryberger, Positively Cleveland; Dee Grossman, Tuscarawas Co. CVB and Beth Ervin, Experience Columbus), Tammy Brown from the Division and Lara Kretler from Fahlgren Mortine PR (the Division’s public relations agency of record) participated in the mission Feb. 27-28.

We had a slate of 11 appointments (a couple of those including more than one publication) with: Hallmark Magazine, Skybussing Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, The Knot and The Nest (magazines), Country Living magazine, Woman’s Day magazine, the Food Network, Budget Travel, Arts & Leisure News Service, freelancer Melinda Paige and Travel Agent Media Group.

Thank you to everyone who participated and completed questionnaires providing some wonderful information that was shared with the travel media. We’ll be in touch with many of you as we follow up with the media on their specific interests.

(Photo caption - From left to right: Susan Fryer, Tammy Brown and Dee Tasker-Grossman gathered together during this year's New York Media Mission Feb. 27-28.)

Grant Writing Workshops Available to Appalachian Counties

The Ohio Department of Development and the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, in partnership with Ohio’s three Local Development Districts and The Appalachian Regional Commission, invite Appalachian County representatives to participate in a two-day Grant Writing Workshop on either May 27 and 28 or May 29 and 30. The workshops will provide a comprehensive overview of grant writing.

Fiscal Year 2008 National Scenic Byways Program Grant Solicitation

The Federal Highway Administration is now seeking grant proposals for National Scenic Byways Program funding consideration for FY 2008. SAFETEA-LU authorized up to $40 million for this fiscal year. FHWA has decided to be more strategic in its grant awards process by targeting its resources toward projects that provide the greatest benefits. FHWA is particularly focusing on projects with demonstrated benefits for the byway traveler and invites the application of large-scale, high-cost projects that provide strategic benefits to the byway. Applications are due to FHWA division offices by April 11, 2008, and to FHWA headquarters by May 9, 2008.

Information on Industry Trends Now Available

TNS (Taylor Nelson Sofres) has released their new American Traveler Survey providing 11 industry insights into upcoming trends expected to change the travel industry. Through overall marketing and business research, the presentation introduces and explains some very important research findings and insights vital to all industry members.

For more information, or to view the presentation yourself, visit our industry site to get up to speed on the latest travel industry trends.

Best Practices: Know the Baby Boomer Generation

There’s an age group out there that accounts for the majority of the population and has, by far, the highest disposable income out of any demographic group. Known as the Baby Boomers, this group was born between 1946 and 1964 and is setting the standard in current travel trends.

Tech Corner: All About Widgets

You may have heard the term “widget” before and wondered, what exactly is a widget? Widgets are also called gadgets, badges, modules, snippets, minis and flakes. By any name, a widget is a piece of code that can easily be added to a Web site to include content that is automatically updated. Examples of widgets can be found on iGoogle, Flickr, YouTube and many other Web sites. As part of Web 2.0, widgets can be used on any site, and are frequently used on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

So, what good is a widget? Widgets have the potential to share information across the web, add content and functionality to a Web site and contribute to the advertising and marketing on the Internet. According to a recent e-Marketer.com article, widgets have millions of users currently and are expected to grow in use. With the number of people already familiar with widgets or using them, they are a great way to expand access to your Web site content across the Internet.

Here is an example of a widget that is used to publicize DiscoverOhio.com Podcasts: 

↑ Grab this Headline Animator

The code can be placed on any Web site and the content refreshes when a new Podcast is added to show the five most recent Podcasts. The widget allows for greater reach of the content outside of DiscoverOhio.com and gives the Web sites fresh content where it’s used without having to do anything after adding the code once.

Where in the World

March 4: Celeste Krolak – Tourism Conference, Champaign County
March 6-9: Celeste – Heartland Travel Showcase, Milwaukee, Wisc.
March 12: Amir Eylon meeting with Positively Cleveland
March 14: Amir, Alicia Reece and Tammy Brown – National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Press Conference, Cincinnati
March 17: Amir, Christina Grozik and Alicia – Dayton Film Stakeholder Meeting
March 24: Amir, Christina and Alicia – Licking County Film Stakeholder Meeting
March 26: Amir, Joe and Alicia – Cincinnati USA Regional Tourism Network meeting
March 28-29: Aimee Zerla (28th) and Amir (29th) – Appalachian Ohio 2008 Travel Show