MANSFIELD, Ohio — According to Mansfield and Richland County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau President Lee Tasseff, Mansfield and Richland County tourism is turning a corner.
Mansfield and Richland County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) held their annual meeting Wednesday, May 19 to recognize businesses who increased tourism in 2014 and years past.
“We had a record setting year in publicity. Mentions for Mansfield and Richland County attractions topped over 173 million,” said Tasseff. Mentions, he explained, are stories from news outlets, TV and radio stations. “You can thank Shawshank for that with Mudder right behind them.”
Last year, he said, Shawshank’s 20th Anniversary celebration brought in people from around the world, along with Tough Mudder’s event which drew thousands of individuals.
Moving forward, Tasseff said the Mansfield CVB will conduct research this summer to get a better understanding of who visits the area. “It was important for us to stop and get a clearer handle on the types of visitors we attract and what motivates them. The research creates a foundation to seek potential new visitors and markets. It will fundamentally help guide our marketing decisions for the next few years.”
Tasseff announced upcoming events for 2015. He mentioned the Spherion Mid Ohio 13er, a half marathon happening August 16. Also coming to Mansfield, June 1, is Simon Majumdar. He is the author of “Fed, White, and Blue: Finding America With My Fork” and tv personality on Food Network.
For 2016, he said they have started strategizing for next year’s Republican National Convention happening in Cleveland.
“There are a lot of eyeballs paying attention to Cleveland, paying attention to Ohio. Our job is to figure out how do we get in between all those eyeballs in Cleveland and draw attention to things down here,” said Tasseff.
Six area businesses and organizations won the bureau’s award for Excellence in Tourism. Receiving the award were Wishmaker House Bed & Breakfast in Bellville, Pumpkin Glow from Kingwood Center Gardens, the Richland B&O Trail of the Richland Park District, the Adam Schuster Soccer Tournament from Mansfield Liederkranz, Rock-n-Ribs from North Central State College Foundation and the Mansfield Mehock Relays from Mansfield City Schools.
Each recipient of the Excellence in Tourism Award received a plaque in their honor.
“We started doing these about 10 years ago, there’s now 52 entries into our Tourism Hall of Fame. An event, or individual, or facility needs to rise to a certain level before it makes it into this hall of fame. All of these have something significant that they’ve brought to the table,” said Tasseff.
Keynote speaker for the meeting was Bill Geist, Chief Instigator at Zeitgeist Consulting out of Madison, Wisconsin.
“Tourism encourages economic development. We have to make it our own,” said Geist. His consultation company works in tandem with Mansfield CVB to stay ahead of certain trends and make marketing strategies.
For more information on Mansfield CVB, visit their website or call 419-525-1300.
