Visitors Bureau of Highland County provides yearly update at commission meeting

Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton heard an annual update on the Visitors Bureau of Highland County’s activities and accomplishments during their Wednesday, Dec. 11 meeting.

Visitors Bureau Executive Director Jamie Wheeler shared a PowerPoint slideshow of the Bureau’s activities since her last update in October 2023.

As outlined by Wheeler in the presentation, “the Visitors Bureau’s mission is to attract visitors to Highland County through education, promotion and marketing of attractions and activities in the region” and “to answer the question ‘What is there to do in Highland County?’

“We also share some of this work with our business community,” Wheeler said. “It can be used a lot to retain and attract workforce. We also work really well with visitors bureaus in our region, surrounding counties, to promote events, do things together.”

Wheeler shared data from Tourism Ohio that shows tourism’s increasing impact on the local economy, with all of the totals for 2023 being the highest listed compared to 2021, 2019 and 2017. According to their study, tourism supports 1,089 jobs in Highland County, including in transportation, retail, lodging, recreation and food/beverage sectors.

That led to a $58.1 million total economic impact in Highland County for 2023, including $34.2 million in direct visitor spending and $16.5 million in total labor income impact. Highland County also saw $7.3 million in total tax revenues as a result.

Some of the ongoing work done by the Visitors Bureau includes maintaining their website (visithighlandcounty.com) and social media pages, which help promote local events and receive thousands of views annually, as well as the publication of various promotional materials. That includes rack cards, “a new project for us,” that promote hiking trails, popular areas, outdoor activities and other topics.

“These have been really popular,” Wheeler said.

During the past year, the office relocated from the Scott House to the Hillsboro Business Complex LLC, at 129 North High Street, with the move taking place in February, Wheeler said. A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed in June.

As Wheeler is also director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce, the office houses both organizations. “The new space includes a walk-in area with information and guides from local and regional attractions, office space, a conference room and a back patio,” Wheeler said in June.

With their new office in the uptown district, Wheeler said they have seen an increase in “foot traffic.

“The biggest addition is this area here in the lobby that's full of brochures, materials, business cards, things like that, and  it does get used quite a bit,” Wheeler said. “That has been a really good thing. The foot traffic, we were not quite prepared for when we moved uptown. It has been good to see lots of people.”

In the summer, the Visitors Bureau hosted two influencers from the Cincinnati/Columbus areas (Food Hussy and Adventure Mom) and Wheeler said both individuals either updated existing blog posts or created new ones.

Some of their posts included highlighting places to stay, “great places to eat” and recreation, especially outdoor activities. The bloggers’ posts reached over 25,000 people and had over 1,500 interactions, Wheeler said.

“For 48 hours, I basically had them on a nonstop run through Highland County,” she said. “They got to experience a lot of different things.

“We've had an ongoing relationship with those ladies, and they do a lot of promotion for us.”

Highland County also hosted the third annual Tri-County Battle of the Bands this summer at Crossroads Park in Hillsboro, as this is a collaboration with Clinton and Fayette counties. This was Highland County’s first time hosting, as the event includes a competition among one band from each of the three counties.

“We estimate north of 750 people [attended],” Wheeler said. “I’ve heard anywhere from 750 to 1,000, but it was a great night full of a lot of people in downtown.”

In October, the Visitors Bureau received a RUBY Award for their website, a Citation of Excellence (second place) for radio advertising and was a finalist in the print media category for their hiking trail rack card.

“That was a pretty big deal to be recognized in a room full of visitors bureaus and attractions, all the way from Visit Cincy to Cleveland to Toledo,” Wheeler said.

For upcoming plans in 2025, Wheeler said the Visitors Bureau is planning to produce a monthly e-newsletter promoting local happenings. To sign up, visit the Visitors Bureau website.

Wheeler said she would also be “continuing to work with” area partners on promoting Highland County in light of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks’ recent UNESCO World Heritage designation.

“Obviously, a big chunk of those are over in Ross County, some over in Warren County,” Wheeler said. “We're on the path in between, so we continue to work with those counties and how we can promote that. They are starting to see an uptick in visitors, so we’re reworking some of our stuff to include that.”

Wheeler added that the Visitors Bureau is working with the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia (ORCA), as “the big push there is a branding effort that kind of covers the entire Appalachian region in Ohio.”

Highland County will also be “ramping up” efforts to participate in the “America 250” celebration for the United States’ semiquincentennial anniversary, Wheeler said. During Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners approved a resolution to “endorse AMERICA250-OH and their mission to educate, preserve, innovate and celebrate every Ohio in every county.”

“There's lots of events and activities and planning already going on, and they want to do stuff in all 88 counties,” Wheeler said. “That [resolution] will let us set up a committee to start to plan events or apply for grants to help plan events. They've got a lot of really cool trails that they're developing as part of this and different things throughout the state.”

For more information on their mission or to submit an item for promotion by the Visitors Bureau, Wheeler encouraged the community to email info@visithighlandcounty.com or visit their website.

Commissioners thanked Wheeler, with Roades and Britton saying she is doing a “nice job” and Daniels pointing out that the Visitors Bureau’s “presence is growing yearly.”

“We appreciate everybody’s help and support,” Wheeler said.

Also during Wednesday’s meeting:

• Commissioners agreed to roll back a portion of the county’s property taxes for current expenses for one year, in response to recent property reevaluations, during their Wednesday, Dec. 11 meeting. Read more at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/commissioners-agree-reduce-inside-….

• Innergex community and government relations representative Janet Grothe presented a $21,250 check to Highland County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jennifer Schinkal and Lieutenant Craig Seaman for the purchase of five new Flock Safety cameras. Read more at: https://highlandcountypress.com/news/innergex-donates-21250-toward-new-….

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