BELLVILLE – Imagine spending your honeymoon in Richland County. One Cleveland couple did just that and were honored by Destination Mansfield-Richland County on Wednesday.
More than 200 people attended the Destination Mansfield-Richland County’s annual meeting at Der Dutchman Restaurant in Bellville, where President Lee Tasseff honored people and businesses for tourism excellence. He also spoke about the organization’s 2016 successes and 2017 plans.
Rebecca Black and Matt Stankus didn’t want to spend half their honeymoon on a plane, traveling to an exotic destination. The couple, who were married July 3, 2016, wanted something nearby, affordable and fun. They found Richland County.
“Basically, we didn’t want to go to Hocking Hills and Laurel Highlands was crazy booked, and we wanted something that was relaxed and outdoors,” Black said.
She was returning from a trip to Columbus one day and picked up brochures on the Mansfield area. They both agreed it was the perfect fit.
“There were breweries here for him and wineries here for me,” Black said.
“We are both really outdoorsy people… but we went to the Carousel museum, kayaking. I got her to go ziplining,” Stankus said.
Tasseff met the couple when they were checking into their hotel, and thought they should be recognized at the annual dinner. He hopes other people will consider Richland County as a vacation and honeymoon get-away.
In other items, 10 businesses and two college professors joined the Destination Mansfield-Richland County tourism Hall of Fame.
“It’s always a highlight to honor those who have enhanced our marketability in the tourism marketplace,” Tasseff said in a press release.
Among the awardees are authors of “The Shawshank Experience,” the member businesses of the Wine & Ale Trail, Wayne’s Country Market, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With these new additions, the hall of fame has 60 winners.
In 2017, Destination Mansfield-Richland County hopes to redesign its visitor’s guide and add a lodging reservation system to DestinationMansfield.com.
It is also working on a digital marketing campaign, which will target race fans at the Mid-Ohio Sports Course and Mansfield Motor Speedway. It is designed to emulate the digital campaigns that were used during the Republican National Convention last year, where Destination Mansfield-Richland County tied its advertising to events that would draw attention.
“The first thing we did in 2016 was launch a digital campaign aimed at taking advantage of the Republican National Convention without stepping a foot in Cleveland,” said board chair, Alex Rocks in a press release. “The goal was to build awareness (of local tourism options) with millions of potential visitors from around the country before anyone arrived at the convention and then again during the convention.”
Tasseff explained the campaign led with the Shawshank Trail because it didn’t need explained. A video advertising the trail and a new website were created in the process.
Destination Mansfield-Richland County then used what it learned for another campaign later in 2016. This one targeted people interested in The Christmas Story House, located in Cleveland
Identifying itself as the “only tourism-focused economic development organization” in the county, Destination Mansfield states that tourism is the fourth largest employer in Richland County, providing more than 4,400 jobs with a payroll of $86 million.
Tourism, which includes jobs in entertainment, leisure and restaurants, brings in about $8.9 million in local taxes.
Destination Mansfield-Richland County employs four full-time and one part-time staff, who promote local attractions in hopes of growing the economy.
The meeting was presented by the Alta Florist and Greenhouse and the Der Dutchman Restaurant.
