By: Karen Eylon, Union County Convention and Visitors Bureau
No industry has been hit as hard in the COVID-19 pandemic than the travel industry. At nearly a year in, tourism leaders in Union County and across the globe are looking for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.
Prior to the pandemic, the travel industry experienced ten years of consecutive growth. Visitor spending in Ohio grew at an annualized rate of 4.1% over the past five years, increasing from $32.8 billion in 2015 to $38.3 billion in 2019. Good news, visitor spending in Union County increased 24.8% in 2019, ahead of the state overall. Visitors to Union County spent $97.0 million in 2019, which generated $150.4 million in business sales, up from $122.6 million in 2017.*
Unfortunately, over the course of the past year, the industry has experienced unprecedented decline. The road to recovery will most likely occur in phases over a period of years. Leisure travel is anticipated to show signs of recovery beginning in late spring/early summer of 2021 and is projected to be back to 2019 levels in 2022. Business travel expenditures and room revenue will increase incrementally with an estimated return to its prior peak in early 2024. Like most destinations, travel recovery in Union County is critical for economic recovery. Tourism is an integral and driving component of the Union County economy and local business owners rely heavily on visitor spending.
Luckily, Union County is in an ideal position to rebound faster than other/more urban destinations. The mix of rural landscape, strong lodging brands, and travel product that celebrates open spaces and outdoor activities, provides the opportunity for Union County to experience visitor growth in the coming months.
Although Marysville hoteliers rely heavily on business travel, the opportunity for a faster recovery may be experienced through the leisure travel market. Forecasted leisure travel plans for 2021 are dominated by visiting friends and relatives and drive travel, which represents additional good news, as most of the open roads offering safe activities that visitors are seeking are found in Union County.
“With planned enhancements to the wayfinding signage for the Big Darby Plains Scenic Byway, turn-by-turn covered bridge driving tours, farmers markets, u-pick experiences, farm fun (hayrides and corn mazes), wineries, breweries, and quaint shops, Union County is in an excellent position to move through and out of these challenging times,” said Kim Heminger, Union County Convention & Visitors Bureau Board President.
As group travel continues to rebound, Union County remains a strong destination for motorcoach business. According to Karen Eylon, Director of the Union County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 14 tours are currently booked into Union County for 2021, with five of the groups overnighting and touring for multiple days. “The number of group tours that have been booked at our farm has increased exponentially,” said Cheryl Gordon, co-owner of Purple Plains Farm. “Gardening experiences are growing in popularity, as they’re safe and travelers are tired of being indoors,” said Gordon, “we’re excited to share our story and help others learn about self-care using lavender, shitake mushrooms and hickory syrup!”
Thankfully, the outdoor nature of bicycle motocross provides another safe opportunity for visitation and economic impact with the new Marysville BMX track. According to track organizer, Chad Clarridge, the track was recently selected as a host location for the USA BMX Gold Cup Qualifier Series in June.
As the vaccine allows travel to open up again, event venue owners are seeing brighter days ahead, as well. Phil Shandle, owner of French Hen Farm, shared that despite the number of rescheduled events, he and his wife Linda chose to increase customer service and invest in their business by installing heating and extending their season to accommodate clients whose events were displaced by COVID in the spring and early summer. In addition, they added touchless sinks and hand towel dispensers, and incorporated extensive cleaning processes. Like so many other attractions, many of these safety features and new ways of business will stay.
With a heightened demand for safety, consumers will continue to look for properties and attractions offering a comprehensive cleaning protocol, contactless check-in, ticketing, or payments, as well as biometric options (fingerprint scans and facial recognition for check-in/entering room, etc.).
“We were able to pivot to increase our online ordering capabilities,” said Tim Dawson, owner of the Grainery. “In moving through the challenges of a pandemic, we discovered that successful online ordering met the consumer demand for a contactless experience, increased accuracy and ticket sales, reduced manpower, and provided an opportunity to market to customers like never before.”
As life eventually returns to “normal,” the enduring legacy of the pandemic will certainly be one of gratitude. The motivation for travel will remain, as by nature we love to see beauty, visit new places, spend time with loved ones, conduct business with those we know and create treasured memories. We will be forever changed by this pandemic by never taking the gift of travel, even if it is simply exploring what’s in our own backyard, for granted.
*Source: Economic Impact of Tourism in Union County, Ohio 2019, Tourism Economics