YORK VISITS WITH LOCAL LEGISLATORS IN SUPPORT OF TOURISM

York is pictured with Rep. Dick Adams who represents 
the 79th House District, including Miami County and 
portions of Darke County.

COLUMBUS – Executive Director, Deanna York with the Darke County Visitors Bureau joined fellow members of Ohio Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (OACVB), Ohio Travel Association (OTA) and Ohio Hotel Lodging Association (OHLA) as they visited State Legislators on Wednesday, March 16 to emphasize the importance of tourism. York was one of approximately 100 tourism leaders to visit State Senators and Representatives in Columbus. She visited with Rep. Dick Adams, Rep. Jim Buchy and Joe Otte, legislative aide to Keith Faber.

“It was a privilege to meet with our state leaders and share with them what tourism means to Darke County, as well as the entire state,” shared York. “We discussed the local jobs created by tourism as well as the how the Darke County Visitors Bureau and other visitor bureaus use the lodging tax to encourage visitors to come to our community to shop, play and stay.”

According to Longwood International, for every tourism advertising dollar spent on promoting tourism in Ohio, there is a $13 return. That return on investment is what can help generate the dollars needed to feed the state budget and create more jobs. Phil Craig, executive director of the OACVB states, “Jobs are the most important issue facing Ohio today. By using the local lodging tax to market our communities we are creating and retaining jobs right here in our communities.”

Tourism accounts for 437,000 jobs in Ohio as visitors spend $36 billion in Ohio with a $2.5 billion revenue impact for state and local governments. In Darke County, the tourism industry sustained more than 1,426 local jobs, contributes more than $7.7 million in local taxes and generated $57.6 million in sales for local businesses.