President/CEO Message
VisitMercerCountyPA is the marketing leader for the travel and tourism industry in Mercer County with the goal to expand and strengthen travel and tourism and enhance the overall economy of Mercer County.
Mercer County Tourism started fiscal year 2022/23 with still a lot of uncertainty. Most of our members were experiencing staff shortages and many had to shorten their hours of operation. Our major international market, Southern Ontario Canada was slow to open the border without restrictions. Some supply issues remained, and inflation continued to grow. However, our industry was resilient and resourceful, and travelers were ready to get on the road. FY 2022/23 became a record year. Hotel booking for weddings, reunions, sports travel and fun experiences soared. Hotel excise tax receipts outpaced FY 21 by over 14%. Inflation of course played a role in this increase, but pent-up demand was also strong. We are seeing signs of recovery in Mercer County.
Hotel Excise Tax:
FY 2022/23 $1,117,945.00
FY 2021/22 $975,290.00
FY 2020/21 $619,850.00
FY 2019/20 $932,176.00
During the year we continued our online campaigns including Web tracker, Google, Facebook, Instagram, native content advertising, Over the Top TV, email blasts, videos on YouTube/our website and others. According to TripAdvisor, “86% of travelers use online resources to make travel decisions.” We felt it was important for Mercer County to invest a significant portion of the budget in online marketing.
We also instituted new initiatives to bring attention to Mercer County attractions, including a successful 30-mile race on the Shenango River, a Skydive Fest, increased marketing of the Wine & Brew Trail and the Underground Railroad Tour that sold out within one hour. Outdoor adventure and golf also generated a huge number of requests this year. In addition thanks to the owners of the Olympic Fun Center, the Hermitage area of Mercer County is host to the 2023 U.S. Skating Championships. This event is bringing thousands of visitors from all over the country to our area.
Our industry continues to face challenges with increased costs, staff shortages and a low Canadian exchange rate where Canadians only receive .75 cents on our dollar. Our Canadian visits probably won’t return to pre pandemic levels until this exchange rate improves. However, we have positioned ourselves to meet these challenges. We have in place numerous opportunities for collaborations with our members, business partners and local communities to develop the tourism economy. Programs such as a strong online presence, co-op advertising, tourism attraction development grant, festival marketing grant and major project initiatives will help Mercer County’s tourism industry grow.
Thank you to all our members and partners for their continued dedication and commitment to the tourism industry’s future success.
Lake to Lake Paddle Challenge
Tri-State PGA: Mercer County Tourism Pro-Am
SkyDive Fest
ONLINE MARKETING
Our major campaigns (shopping, golf, outdoor adventure, wine and brew trail, and romantic getaways) have a direct call to action and generate thousands of requests. Over 115,0000,000 visitors (over 13% increase from FY 21/22) came to our website to find information on things to do and places to stay. When the potential visitor come to our site, they are invited to complete a form requesting our brochures and any specific information they need to make a decision. Weekly we get hundreds of these forms submitted asking for the visitors guide, coupon book, and wine and brew tour/ itinerary, requesting a golf quote or an outdoor adventure guide.
COOPERATIVE ADVERTISING
In County VMCPA members can participate in cooperative advertising which helps stretch their marketing dollars. Up to $20,000.00 is available for each partnership. The Bureau provides a dollar-for-dollar match on advertising to promote overnight stays and a 50% match on advertising that promote day trips. Two or more partners must work together and submit an application to access this program.
TOURISM ATTRACTION DEVELOPMENT GRANT
The Mercer County Tourism Attraction Development Grant (MCTAG) provides funds for the new development and expansion of tourism attractions in Mercer County PA. The maximum amount available is determined each fiscal year and must be leveraged with at least 50% of eligible project expenditures from other sources. Up to $20,000.00 is available per approved project. $120,000.00 has been set aside for FY 23-24.
Programs that Work
SUPPORT FOR FESTIVAL MARKETING
$40,000.00 is earmarked for direct grants to Festivals & Fairs to assist them in promoting their event. $2,000.00 is available per event.
LOCAL BILLBOARD PROGRAM
The agency pays 1/2 of the cost of local billboards up to $1,000.00. VisitMercerCountyPA.com must be shown prominently on the billboard (mobile or stationary.)
GIVEAWAY MONDAYS AND OTHER FACEBOOK ACTIVITIES
Features a member property and a giveaway of $25 or $50 to spend at their site. Videos of member sites posted Instagram.
MAJOR PROJECTS
Up to $500,000.00 over a 5-year span ($100,000/year max) may be awarded to assist in the development of a “game changer”. An example of a game changer would be the Grove City Premium Outlets or a comparable project that would generate thousands of room nights annually.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Direct development and/or partnership to implement a new event with a close tie-in to our campaigns. For the FY 2022-23 the board approved hosting the Tri-State PGA, Lake to Lake Paddle Challenge and SkyDive Festival. For the Juneteenth event in Farrell, we secured a $7,000.00 state grant.
TOURISM ACRONYMS
ABA American Bus Association
DMO Destination Marketing Organization
FAM Familiarization Tour
GTG Group Tour Guide
NTA National Tour Association
OMCA Ontario Motorcoach Association
OVG Official Visitors Guide
PBA Pennsylvania Bus Association
RMI Regional Marketing Initiative
ROI Return on Investment
SEO Search Engine Optimization
TIA Travel Industry Association of America
TPA Tourist Promotion Agency
VFR Visiting Friends & Relatives
U.S. Skating Championships
Marketing Highlights
PR
Several Blogs written weekly. Each blog is promoted on Facebook and also shared in an email blast
Weekly email blasts to over 10,000 who have opted in on our list
Interviews with WFMJ-TV, WKBN-TV, Youngstown Business Journal, WXED–FM radio
Youngstown TV stations, The Herald and other local news picked up press releases on Lake to Lake Paddle Challenge, SkyDive Fest, Underground Railroad Tour, Cobblehaus Brewing by the Fall, Guthrie Theater and many other events and attractions.
Attractions from Mercer County featured on the VisitPA website
Logo on 20 festival brochures and marketing pieces. New logo with more vibrant colors was developed in the fiscal year.
THROUGH OUR REGIONAL AFFILIATION WITH PA’S GREAT LAKES REGION
Ads in PA Visitors Guide and VisitPA.com
$10,000.00 in Free Google advertising available each month to the region
Promoted the region at Heartland Travel Showcase—Cincinnati, OH
Completed Regional Group Tour Guide
Marketed our region as a fishing destination
Hiking, Biking and Water Trails Publication
SOCIAL MEDIA REPORT
We had a great year of social media growth! We had a lot of amazing interaction with our posts and a lot of shares to keep the pages active and engaging!
We engaged over 23,000 followers on Facebook
We engaged over 1,500 followers on Instagram (This will be a big focus for growth)
Features:
We really stepped up our video content on Facebook and Instagram with videos reaching 1,000’s some 10’s of thousands
“Live” videos.
We kept with our wonderful Monday Blues Giveaways that not only help promote, but also support our great members.
We were the first to give you a peek at many local attractions
Storytelling
Ran targeted ads
Introduced many new members
Promoted all the seasonal activities our great county has
Tourism Week Campaign with our fellow Visitor Bureaus
Gingerbread Campaign
Tourism Cash Campaign/ with photo shoots to promote
Promoted all the great events/ being present as much as possible to get photos and videos
As we continue:
High quality engaging photos especially with people enjoying our attractions/ that can be used for our pages and our member pages
Expanding our video content
Starting some new series to help engagement and gain new followers
Peggy Mazyck, President/CEO of VisitMercerCountyPA
Marketing Highlights y
GOLF
Below are golf shows we attended:
Cleveland Golf Show
Toronto, ON, Canada Golf Show
Pittsburgh Golf Show
Niagara Golf Show
Our golf members indicate that golf is on the rise and golf courses are enjoying high demand from individuals and groups. Request for quotes from golf groups increased over 371% this year.
WINES, BREWS, SPIRITS AND GOOD TIMES TRAILING THROUGH MERCER COUNTY
The Wine & Brew Trail continued to be one of the top sellers this year. We provide customized itineraries and help with arranging transportation if needed, meals and coordination. This tour is immensely popular with visitors seeking to celebrate special occasions such a bridal shower, anniversaries, birthdays, etc.
GROUP TOUR UPDATE
Motorcoach companies we assisted this year:
Eagle Rock Tours
Cross Country Tours
Great Day Tours
Julie Setzer Group Leader from Philadelphia
Neihart Tours
Coach USA Pittsburgh
Cathy Rosenberg Group Leader
Sandy Lasher Group Leader
CB&C Tours
Susan Hatcher Receptive Operator
Tuscarawas Senior Center
Visitors Guide Coupon Book Outdoor Adventure Guide Wine & Brew Guide Golf Guide