BuckeyeLine

Moving Ahead into 2009!

Okay—the kids are back in school and the Industry is ready for the first fall festivals, corn mazes and late summer/early fall weekend excursions! This is just a beautiful time of year in Ohio, and I am looking forward to being on the road again across the state for our next round of Town Hall meetings. This week, we began the process of rolling out the majority of our 2009 partnership opportunities and co-ops (see schedule below).  Please do not miss out on some fantastic opportunities to leverage resources with the Ohio Tourism Division to tell the world about your business!  We have seen strong RSVPs for the first few meetings. It is not too late to register for upcoming dates, so please come on out and join us for a couple of hours to find out what’s new and ask any questions that may be on your mind about ongoing Division programs.

It’s Not Too Late to Register for Remaining Sept. Partnership Meetings!

The Division is hosting five Town Hall meetings to brief you, Ohio’s Tourism Industry members, on marketing partnership opportunities and other ways we can help you promote your tourism destinations, lodging facilities, restaurants, attractions, etc. Following are dates for the remaining Town Hall meetings. Please RSVP to Joy Doty (by dates indicated below) at Joy.Doty@development.ohio.gov and remember to indicate which session you plan to attend. We hope to see you at one of these events!

Southwest Ohio
Sept. 11, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. – noon
Dayton Convention Center, Room 202 and 203
22 E. 5th St.
Dayton, OH 45402
RSVP by Sept. 4

Northwest Ohio
Sept. 16, 2008 from 1 – 4:00 p.m.
Toledo Maritime Center
1701 Front St.
Toledo, OH 43605
RSVP by Sept. 9

Southeast Ohio
Sept. 17, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. – noon
Cambridge/Guernsey County CVB, Multi-Purpose Room
627 Wheeling Ave.
Cambridge, OH 43725
RSVP by Sept. 9

Sept. 5 Listing Deadline for 2009 Spring/Summer Ohio Calendar of Events

To have your Ohio tourism event considered for inclusion in the printed 2009 Spring/Summer Ohio Calendar of Events (100,000 quantity printed), please submit/update your information in the Buckeye database by 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5. The calendar will include events that take place between March and August of 2009.

Sept. 30 Deadline for Group Tour Experiential Itinerary Submissions

CVB Group Tour partners: It’s time to be creative and develop new 2009 experiential itineraries. Please submit at least four group tour itineraries that target the student performance/educational and/or the senior/adult markets by Sept. 30. The submission form is accessible online at http://discoverohio.com/edit/login.asp.

Once you log in, select “Itinerary Manager” to begin the process. The collection of itineraries will be used in multiple ways to assist tour planners with packaging Ohio trips, including the group tour section of DiscoverOhio.com (to be re-launched later this winter). For more information, contact Celeste at Celeste.Krolak@development.ohio.gov.

Ohio's Multicultural Tourism Campaign Visits Toledo

On Thursday, Aug. 14, Assistant State Tourism Director Alicia Reece visited the Toledo CVB and Toledo Zoo for a special presentation on Ohio’s multicultural tourism campaign, "Livin' for the Weekend." The presentation was held in the Toledo Zoo’s beautiful Nairobi Pavilion and was attended by Northwest Ohio tourism partners.

(Photo Caption--From left to right: Assistant State Tourism Director Alicia Reece; Marna Ramnath, Immediate Past President, Toledo Zoo Board; Carolyn Schermbeck, do Toledo, CEO; John Jones, Greater Toledo Urban League, President & CEO; Larouth Perry, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, Toledo Alumnae Chapter)

Show Off Your Destination with New Division B-roll Partnership Opportunities

The Division Public Relations Office has worked with the PPS Group to create what is believed to be the first state tourism Online B-roll* Library in the country! The purpose of the library is to promote Ohio tourism experiences to the visual media (television news and travel programs, travel Web sites, video for our own Web site(s), etc.). The library has actually been active for a year or so, and is now ready to bring to you as a participatory program for the Ohio Travel Industry.

National Tour Association Releases New Online Tracking Program

As part of NTA’s ongoing efforts to assist destinations in tracking the economic impact of tours and packaged travel, the association has developed an easy-to-use online program that allows tour operators to quickly e-mail itineraries to destinations.

Division Requests Buckeye Database Feedback; Please complete the following survey

The Tourism Information Office is currently reviewing the functionality of the Buckeye Database and in doing so, we would like to ask the users of the database how their experience compares when using similar sites and features. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey so we can provide products and services that best fit your needs.  Take the survey below or click here to open the survey in a new window.

Tech Corner: Buckeye Database Listing Tips

Your Buckeye Database Listing is arguably the most important information you can share with the Division. The information from your approved database listing will appear on DiscoverOhio.com, will be available through our 1-800-BUCKEYE travel counselors and will be considered for our printed Travel Planner and Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter calendars. Below are some tips you can follow to assure your listing is all that it can be.

Where in the World

Sept. 3: Aimee Zerla at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife’s Wildlife Diversity Partners Meeting at Shawnee State Park Lodge
Sept. 4: Amir Eylon, Alicia Reece, Tammy Brown, Joe Vargo, Christina Grozik, Eric Herzog, Jessie Wagner and Roger Barker at the Columbus Town Hall Meeting
Sept. 5: Amir, Alicia, Tammy, Joe, Christina and Eric at the Medina Town Hall Meeting
Sept. 5-9: Celeste Krolak at the Student & Youth Travel Association Annual Conference, San Antonio
Sept. 7-11: Alicia at National Baptist Convention in Cincinnati
Sept. 11: Amir, Alicia, Tammy, Joe, Eric, Christina and Aimee at the Dayton Town Hall Meeting
Sept. 16: Amir, Alicia, Tammy, Joe, Eric and Christina at the Toledo Town Hall Meeting
Sept. 17: Amir, Alicia, Tammy, Joe, Eric and Christina at the Cambridge Town Hall Meeting