The state's tourism industry enjoyed
a superb 2003 with numerous happenings
that put many destinations, attractions and events in the public eye on
local, regional and national levels.
"Our tourism product is one
of our state's best public relations nuggets,"
said Governor Bob Wise. "There's no better gateway to show potential
businesses all the quality items our state has to offer than through
tourism."
For five straight years, Division
of Tourism studies have shown an annual
increase in tourism visits and such trend should continue when such report
is done for 2003 said Betty Carver, Commissioner of Tourism.
"This was an excellent year
for tourism in West Virginia and I'm proud that
our agency was quite active throughout 2003," said Carver. "Looking
back at
the past 12 months, our staff had a presence in tourism activities in nearly
every county. It's rewarding to work not only with a dedicated staff but
also with many industry members equally committed to keeping tourism a vital
component of our state's economy."
Carver added that the annual Tourism
Day at the Legislature, scheduled for
Jan. 28, will showcase much of what the state's tourism industry offers.
2003 highlights for the Division
of Tourism include:
· A record number of 403,000-plus travel guides were distributed to
residents in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 37 countries
(compared to 345,684 travel guides mailed in 2002)
· A record number of 1.1 million
user sessions on the callwva.com
web site, an increase of 40 percent over 2002 and more than 4.1 million
registered guests at the state welcome centers, an increase of two percent
over 2002, a then record year.
· The Public Information office
generated more than $19 million
worth of print editorial coverage and assisted the Governor's Office in
handling the 350-plus media present for the Jessica Lynch homecoming press
conference.
· Partnered with industry
members to for the Southern Governor's
Conference; the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America international rally, and
the International Police Mountain Bike Association international conference.
· Partnership with Remington
Arms brought 35 top national
outdoor/wildlife writers and editors to West Virginia for the annual
Remington new product seminar, with product testing and review taking place
at Glade Springs, the Beckley Gun Club and Stoney Brook Plantation.
· The much-publicized Lewis
and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration
began in January and several Ohio River cities were site of many
commemorative events from March through September.
The coming year holds much promise
for continued growth, said Carver, noting
several high profile events like the 25th anniversary of Bridge Day; the PGA
Nationwide Tour at Pete Dye Golf Course; the opening of two new
Hatfield-McCoy trail systems to open; the opening of a new welcome center on
Interstate 77 and a new Tourism creative advertising campaign.
Additional Tourism industry highlights for 2003
· A new director fills the vacant West Virginia Film Office and
begins working with national and regional producers for films, commercials
and television shoots. "A Date with Tad Hamilton" due out in late
January
has scenes that were filmed in West Virginia last summer.
· Recognizing that tourists
aren't concerned about state boundaries,
but are interested in seeing the sites, doing the things they want to do,
West Virginia partners with Travel South USA to promote southern travel, is
participating in an Appalachian Regional Commission tourism development
project and joined the Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Association.
· In partnership with Division
of Natural Resources, Tourism has
worked with programs designed to promote more interest in hunting, fishing
and wildlife programs in the state. This includes working with the Outdoor
Writers Association of America, the Governor's Youth Hunting and Fishing
Challenge, the Challenged Hunters program at Snowshoe, National Hunting and
Fishing Days at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park and hosting national and
regional travel writers.
· Tourism staff was present
at two national, high-profile mountain
bike events, the 24 Hours of Snowshoe and the NORBA national race series.
Both were held at Snowshoe Mountain. The competitions had racers and media
from across the country.
· Tourism staff members were
present at national conventions to
attract tour groups and conventions.
· Tourism is represented on
the African-American Council, which is
working to develop an African American heritage trail that will be announced
in February.
· Tourism staff members were
host to international media
familiarization tours for United Kingdom and Germany travel writers.
· The Southeast Tourism Society
Fall Conference was the first time
ever the 20-year old, 13-state organization held a conference in West
Virginia, taking place at Stonewall Jackson Resort State Park.
· More than $19 million were
distributed to 320 businesses from the
agency's Direct Advertising Grants program.
· The state welcome centers
were sites of special events on West
Virginia Day in June as staff at each center partnered with respective local
businesses to offer local residents and tourists alike a unique taste of
West Virginia hospitality.
· The West Virginia Division
of Tourism received the Mercury Award
for audio-visual programming at the Tourism Industry Association of America'
s educational conference in Asheville, N. C. The Division's entry is a
dynamic audio-visual PowerPoint presentation Tourism employees use to make
presentations across the state.
· In February, Tourism officials
announced that 2002 was a record
year for visitors at 23.9 million, an 8.5 percent increase over 2001 and
direct spending by tourists jumped to $3.53 billion, an increase of 13.9
percent over 2001.
· Stonewall Resort, situated
in Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park,
near Weston will receive the prestigious AAA Four Diamond rating for the
year 2004. AAA distinguishes lodging and restaurant properties on a scale
of one to five diamonds, with five being the ultimate rating.
· The Greebrier was named
one of the "Best of the Best" golf resorts
in the world by Conde Nast Traveler magazine. In a separate issue, Conde
Nast Traveler named The Greenbrier the number one resort spa in North
America and the Caribbean. Travel and Leisure magazine named The Greenbrier
the World's Number One Value, making it the first time in the publication's
history that a U.S. resort earned such distinction.
· Newsweek Magazine named
Canaan Valley Resort State Park as one of
the country's best parks and Best Park in the Allegheny Highlands.
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