By Brenda Showalter, The Republic
bshowalter@therepublic.com
More than 3.2 million visitors come to Bartholomew County each year and spend nearly $2 million.
Tourism is big business for the county, as families, architecture enthusiasts, sports teams, business travelers and others visit the area.
They stay in hotels, dine at restaurants, go to the movies and shop at retail outlets.
Lynn Lucas, executive director of the Columbus Area Visitors Center, spends much of her time spreading the word outside of Columbus about what the area has to offer.
Marketing the city includes traditional avenues, such as print advertising and billboards, and newer Internet options such as the center's Web site, blogs, e-mail blasts and a page on Facebook, a social networking site.
Lucas' staff also works with neighboring counties and Camp Atterbury to market the area as a destination with plenty to see and do. "You sell what sets you apart," Lucas said. "We're fortunate here in that we have a lot to offer." Selling points range from the architecture and parks system to sports tournaments, shopping, dining and a children's museum. Lucas said the city's brand sends the right message about the area: "Unexpected. Unforgettable."
Selling the city
Cindy Frey, the Visitors Center's associate director, manned a table at last week's Tourism Media Marketplace in Indianapolis. She talked to newspaper reporters, freelance writers and others who might write about the city for state or national publications.
With more than 30 booths set up from counties across the state, Frey was competing for writers' attention and interest. She handed out information packets about the soon-to-open Zaharakos downtown restaurant and confectionery and talked about the city's architecture, shopping outlets, beautiful scenery and proposal for a new downtown sports complex.
Frey noted that Columbus was fortunate last year in that it gained national exposure from several publications.
Columbus was written about in the Washington Post, Nashville Tennessean, Cincinnati Enquirer, National Geographic and online editions of the New York Times and a Ralph Lauren magazine.
"You can't buy that kind of publicity," Frey said.
Any time Columbus gains national attention, the visibility translates into more hits on the Visitors Centers' Web site.
Frey said the center's staff also frequently fields questions about workers considering relocating to Columbus, and restaurants or retail outlets thinking of opening in the city.
Another trend in recent years: those in their 50s and 60s checking out what Columbus offers as a place to retire.
Michael Hicks, director of Ball State University's Center for Business and Economic Research, has studied the economic impact of Indiana's convention and visitors bureaus.
He said research shows every dollar spent on tourism promotion and marketing generates roughly $15 in taxable revenues.
"Tourism is sometimes overlooked as a major industry in Indiana, but it has a major economic impact," Hicks said.
The Association of Indiana Convention and Visitors Bureaus reports that one in 10 jobs in Indiana depends on travel and tourism.
In May, the Indiana Cultural Tourism Conference will focus on the economy's impact on travel.
Indiana tourism leaders are hoping more families and couples will look at nearby travel destinations instead of spending their travel dollars out of state.
Tourism trends
Frey said one of the biggest trends in tourism marketing now is for "girlfriend getaways." Family or friends might get together to stay at a hotel, shop, dine out and do such activities as going to a spa, getting a manicure or spending time at a bead shop making a necklace.
When the Columbus Visitors Center printed a Girlfriends Getaway Guide, staff distributed 70,000 copies in six months. "That made us wake up and take notice," Frey said.
Visitors to the Web site also are looking at shopping options. The center's online shopping guide is downloaded about 900 times a month. Lucas said visitors also increasingly are looking for hands-on activities.
"They like to be engaged," she said. While "wine trails" have enjoyed a following for years, other trail events, such as chocolate trails or artisan trails, are gaining popularity.
Columbus is part of a glass trail, on which people visit counties with glass factories, stores or exhibits. In Columbus, visitors see the large Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in the Visitors Center.
Money budgeted for advertising goes to outlets that target certain markets, but Lucas said she was surprised to see the big response from an advertisement in Oprah Magazine last year.
Lucas and her staff have specific sales pitches when trying to attract women's groups, business travelers or sports tournaments, for example.
Many of the city's attractions, however, appeal to all groups.
"We certainly have a lot to offer, but we hope once they are here they see our hospitality," Lucas said. "That's part of our story."