tri county tourism
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Tri-County Tourism Potential
Gallia County, OhioMeigs County, OhioMason County, West Virginia
Tri-County Current Industry ProfileThe majority of the Tri-County’s current job market are manufacturing/industrial jobsRemainder are health care, small business, retail, telemarketing, mining, agriculture and government
Poverty on the Rise
U.S. Census study shows rising poverty for 2005*
Gallia County – 22.8% in 2005
Up from 17.4% in 2004
Meigs County – 19.9% in 2005
Up from 18.1% in 2004
*Sunday Times Sentinel, January 13, 2008
*www.networkideas.org/news/jan2004/news13_NAFTA.htm
Manufacturing jobs lostBetween 1994 and 2004, the United States lost
nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs.*What caused the loss is somewhat controversialRegardless of the cause, the facts are we cannot
rely on manufacturing jobs in the Tri-County area any longer
IT’S TIME THAT WE MOVE ON TO A NEW,
PROVEN INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE THE TRI-COUNTY AREA…..
TOURISM
Project Goals
Turn the Tri-County into a tourism meccaStart with family entertainment complex as first stepping stoneHave tourism as major industry in 10 years or less
Description
We plan to turn the Tri-County area into a major tourism center similar to the Branson/Lakes area in Missouri with an emphasis on the Ohio River and river recreational activities
Branson Tourism
*www.bransonchamber.com
Branson Tourism
The Branson, Missouri area was host to an estimated 8.4 million tourists in 2007*This generated 1.8 billion dollars in revenue
*www.bransonchamber.com
Branson Tourism Demographics*41% of visitors are families59% of visitors are adults/seniors83.5% travel to Branson via personal vehicle10.3% are groupsAverage visitor age is 56.7Average length of stay is 4.3 nightsAverage amount spent is $827 per tripOn a 1 to 5 rating scale, visitor satisfaction measures 4.6
*www.bransonchamber.com
Branson Tourism Demographics*83% - Shopping78% - Shows35% - Theme Parks41% - Lake/Outdoor Activities5.4% - Golf3.7% - Fishing
Comparison to Branson, Missouri
Myth #1 – The Branson/Lakes area is much larger than the Tri-County areaFact – Demographics and population similar to Branson
*www.census.gov
Branson/Lakes Population Statistics
According to 2000 Census*, there are 6050 citizens for Branson, MissouriTwo counties (Taney and Stone) combine for 68,361 citizens
*www.census.gov
Tri-County Population Statistics
According to 2000 Census*, there are 4180 citizens for Gallipolis, Ohio
Tri-County area includes Gallia and Meigs counties in Ohio and Mason county in West VirginiaTri-County population is 79,917
Population Comparison – City Level
Branson Gallipolis0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
Population Comparison – Multi-County Level
Taney-Stone Gallia-Meigs-Mason0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Myth #2 – Branson has always been there
The majority of Branson’s growth has taken place since 1983This is referred to in the tourism industry as the “25 year miracle.”
*www.censusscope.org
Population Growth Comparison*
Competitive AnalysisCompetitors
We are in a unique position being in the heart of Appalachia to not have many major competitors in our 300 mile market area
Strengths Location in a region that needs jobsAlready have a strong Chamber of Commerce, Visitor’s Bureau, Community Improvement Corporation and City and County Government in place State money available for marketing
Courtesy of www.visitgallia.com
Current Gallia County Tourism
Courtesy of www.meigscountytourism.com
Current Meigs County Tourism
Current Tri-County TourismThe French Art ColonyChester CourthouseOur House MuseumTu-Endie-Wei State Park Bob Evans FarmPoint Pleasant River MuseumThe Ariel TheaterForked Run State ParkKanauga Drive-In Theater
There are currently only 397 Drive-In Theaters left nationwideThis is a decline from 7,000 to 8,000 during the 1960’s
Many other attractions across the Tri-County area
Branson, Missouri has more theater seating than the Broadway
District of New York City1Gallia County CVB, Meigs County Tourism, Mason County CVB
2www.bransonchamber.com
Attraction Comparison
Tri-County Area1 Branson Lakes Area2
Movie Screens 8 3 (1 is Imax theater)
Restaurants 135 458
Concert Theaters 3(1060 seats) 53(59,757 seats)
Museums 14 17
Theme Parks 0 3
Family Entertainment Centers 0 10
Golf Courses 4 13
Wineries 1 3
Concerts Held for Market Research
From 2005 to 2007, 30+ concerts held in GallipolisConcert goers from 28 states came to see our showsMerle Haggard attendance was the largest at any single day event ever held in the Tri-County
Short list of performers
Merle HaggardTrace AdkinsCharlie DanielsDierks BentleyRicky Skaggs
Merle Haggard performance at 9:00 pm
Lines started forming at 8:30 am
18 acre lot filled quickly
Gates opened at 5:00 pm
Merle Haggard
*www.ticketmaster.com
Concerts Held for Market Research
The success rate of these shows on a 10 point scale was 9.5
Lack of accommodations was the only reason it was not a perfect 10 score*
Concerts Held for Market Research
Our concerts have already shown our ability to pull tourists from our 400 to 500 mile market area85% of Concert goers came from outside the Tri-County area*We had concert goers from as far away as*:
New YorkVirginiaMissouriPennsylvaniaMichigan
*www.ticketmaster.com
*www.census.gov
Branson Area Market Area Population*
300 Mile Radius 18,538,472
400 Mile Radius 34,619,160
500 Mile Radius 68,082,521
300 mile 400 mile 500 mile0
10,000,000
20,000,000
30,000,000
40,000,000
50,000,000
60,000,000
70,000,000
*www.census.gov
Tri-County Market Area Population*
300 Mile Radius 50,550,367
400 Mile Radius 94,513,943
500 Mile Radius 130,107,959
300 mile 400 mile 500 mile0
20,000,000
40,000,000
60,000,000
80,000,000
100,000,000
120,000,000
140,000,000
Market Area Comparison
300 miles
400 miles
500 miles
0 20,000,000 40,000,000 60,000,000 80,000,000 100,000,000 120,000,000 140,000,000
50,550,367
94,513,943
130,107,959
18,538,472
34,619,160
68,082,521
Potential Tourist Comparison
Branson
Gallipolis
Potential VisitorsBranson, Missouri gets nearly 38% of it’s 8.4 million per year visitors from a 300 mile radius*
This equals 3.2 million from with 300 miles
Roughly 17% of 300 mile market areaSame percentage in Gallipolis 300 mile market is 8,593,562 yearly visitors from the 300 mile market area alone
*www.bransonchamber.com
*www.bransonchamber.com
Potential RevenueBranson visitors spent an average of $214 per
visitor.* If this average is spent per visitor in the Tri-County area after achieving a similar percentage of our 300 market area visiting, this would give the Tri-County area a potential of $1.84 Billion of revenue generated per year for new and existing businesses.
Tourism Market Comparison
Although the characteristics of the two areas are remarkably similar, the market potential is greatly in the favor of the Tri-County area.
Myth #3 – Branson is easier to get to than Tri-county area
Branson Stretch of subpar roadway between Branson and
Springfield No other major highways leading into the area
Tri-County Major four lanes from several densely populated areas
including US 35 which runs right through Gallia County
Branson/Lakes Area Tri-County Area
*www.dot.state.oh.us
TrafficAccording to the Ohio Department of Transportation*:
In 2006, there was approximately 5,000 potential tourists’ vehicles that traveled through Gallia County on US 35 every 24 hoursIn 2006, there was approximately 15,000 vehicles that traveled past the proposed site for the Family Entertainment Center every 24 hours
These figures include passenger vehicles only These figures nearly double when commercial vehicles
are included
*www.ky3.com/news/local/11570221.html
AirportsThe Tri-County area has a small airport, Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport, that can help support the tourism industry in this areaBranson has a small airport similar in size to ours
Branson is currently building a privately funded airport to broaden there tourism base scheduled to open in May 2009*This is the first privately funded airport to be built in the US in 40 years
Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport
Taney County Airport
Branson Airport
THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW!!!
Hidden Valley AcresOne potential location for some attractions is
at the State Route 850 exit of US 35. There are currently 142 acres of prime vacant land on the market in the middle of Gallia County. This location would provide excellent visibility and accessibility on a highly traveled four-lane highway.
Other locations are possible, this is just one of many examples.
Central Location
Photo Courtesy of Wiseman Real Estate Agency
Hidden Valley Acres
Photo Courtesy of Wiseman Real Estate Agency
LodgingBranson/Lakes Area has 207 lodging facilities with a total of 18,808 rooms plus over twenty RV parks and campgrounds1
The Tri-County Area has only 23 lodging facilities with a total of 576 rooms and 15 campgrounds2
Our growth would have to include at least 18,000 rooms
1www.bransonchamber.com2Gallia County CVB, Mason County CVB, Meigs County CVB
JobsIn order to attract more tourists, more attractions would have to be started and staffedIn order to house more tourists, more lodging would have to be built and staffedThis will have a trickle down effect on others jobs as well, one example is construction
Although construction may be viewed as temporary, Branson has been building heavily since the early 1980’s with several major construction projects ongoing and no end in sight
How does this benefit The Tri-County residents?
Increased revenue for current business ownersPotential for new businessesIncrease level of job availabilityDecreased taxes
Tourism will be able to pay for all of our government agencies, public service departments and our kids’ educations
*www.wikipedia.org
Schedule
Although the tourism for Branson has built over a few decades, the majority of the tourist growth has occurred since 1983.* We feel that with an aggressive development and marketing campaign, it can be mimicked in around 10 years.
*www.discoverohio.com
Current Status*
23.0%
17.5%34.0%
18.2%
7.3%
Currently Southeast Ohio only gets 7.3% of Ohio's tourists
Southwest Northwest Northeast Central Southeast
Current Status (Cont.)The Southeast Ohio Region gets only 7.3% of Ohio’s touristsThis region is made up of 29 counties
This means roughly a 1/3 section of the state’s counties receives the least amount of tourists
SourcesGallia County Convention & Visitors’ Bureauwww.bransonchamber.com www.census.govwww.censusscope.orgwww.discoverohio.comwww.dot.state.oh.uswww.ky3.com/news/local/11570221.htmlwww.masoncountytourism.comwww.meigscountytourism.comwww.mydailytribune.comwww.networkideas.org/news/jan2004/news13_NAFTA.htmwww.ticketmaster.comwww.wikipedia.org