Bureau seeks tourism boost
22.11.2011, 01:56
Tourism already is big business in Hamilton County, and a series of brainstorming sessions is planned to make it even bigger.
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The Hamilton County Convention and Visitors Bureau will host six community forums in the next two months to explore the possibilities for tourism and travel.
Bureau spokeswoman Ashley Roth said the sessions, which begin Oct. 5, will focus on how the countywide visitors bureau can help businesses and organizations grow and expand.
She said Indiana Department of Commerce studies have estimated the economic impact of tourism in Hamilton County at $187 million annually. Tourism supports an estimated 3,200 full-time jobs that pay about $62 million in annual wages.
Much of that impact comes at hotels, motels, restaurants and golf courses.
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The convention and visitors bureau promotes a stay-and-play guest package to encourage golfers to stay in local hotels for the weekend and play at 17 public and private county courses.
An estimated 16,000 youths are involved in team sports in the county, which means many visiting teams and their supporters spend at hotels, restaurants and gasoline stations.
Wednesday, the bureau announced grants to two nonprofit sports organizations helping to promote tourism in the county.
The Ice Skating Club of Indianapolis, based in Hamilton County, received $3,000 to market the Eastern Great Lakes Regional competition for United States Figure Skating. The regional is scheduled for Oct. 25-29.
The Fishers Youth Soccer League received $3,100 for Web site marketing to increase tournament participation.
Hamilton County also is cashing in on Hoosier history.
Conner Prairie, a popular living museum of early life in Indiana, receives an estimated 350,000 visitors each year to its location along Allisonville Road in Fishers.
The most obvious source of tourism dollars from music and stage entertainment are the 500,000 spectators each year at the Verizon Wireless Music Center.
Roth said state tourism officials also have launched an initiative to promote agriculture. Hamilton County has several fruit orchards, pumpkin farms, berry patches and an elk farm near Atlanta that are open to visitors.
A 3 percent tax on county hotel and motel rooms supports the convention and visitors bureau.