Trumbull County gaining tourists’ attention

The bureau’s hotel tax revenue is down 3 percent from last year at this time.

BY JORDAN COHEN

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

WARREN—Trumbull County appears to be getting greater consideration as a tourist attraction as inquiries about upcoming events have increased 46 percent above last year.

Stephanie Sferra, executive director of the Trumbull County Tourism Bureau, said she has received more than 4,500 inquiries from individuals, groups and businesses considering visiting the county this year. “Last year, we had 5,341 inquiries all year, so I think we’re going to easily exceed that,” Sferra said.

Sferra provided the statistics during the bureau’s semiannual meeting Thursday at the National Packard Museum attended by nearly 25 people who are bureau members or supporters.

“We bought an ad in the May issue of Readers Digest and that ad alone got us 1,342 inquiries,” Sferra said, adding that the six-day Packard Car Show to be in July is attracting some of the heaviest interest.

“We’ve already heard that several blocks of hotel rooms reserved for the show have been sold out,” Sferra said.

Analysis of the inquiries indicates that most are coming from Ohio followed by Pennsylvania and Michigan. “We are becoming a regional destination for travelers,” Sferra said.

The bureau’s financial report shows that hotel-tax revenue for the first four months of this year has declined by nearly $1,700 or 3 percent from the same period last year, however the director cautioned that the revenue could rise into the summer. The tax produced approximately $263,000 in 2008, but that, too, represented a 3 percent decrease from the previous year. The tax is the board’s principal source of funding.

The tourism board has a 2009 budget of nearly $258,000, of which $240,000 is funded by Trumbull County. Jerry Usselman, board president, said the brunt of expenses has gone to printing and the national advertising campaign. Usselman said that despite the costs incurred thus far this year, the bureau is in no danger of going into the red.

“I know it’s ungrammatical to put it this way, but if we ain’t got it, we ain’t spending it,” Usselman said.

Despite the large turnout of bureau members, only four of the 10 board members — Usselman, Kathy Telego, Tami Candella and John Palasics — attended Thursday’s meeting. The board of directors’ next semiannual meeting will be in November.

The Trumbull County Tourism Bureau has published a list of all the events scheduled in the county this year. Among them:

Trumbull County Fair: June 30-July 5 (Bazetta)

20th Annual National Packard Museum Car Show: July 20-26 (Warren)

42nd Annual Grecian Festival: July 22-26 (Warren)

25th Annual Warren Italian-American Festival: Aug. 6-9

“Thunder Over the Valley” Air Show: Aug. 8-9 (Air Reserve Station-Vienna)

14th Annual Red Hawk American Indian Cultural Society Pow Wow: Aug. 15-16 (Trumbull County Fairgrounds, Bazetta)

A complete list of all 2009 events is available at ExploreTrumbullCounty.com

Source: Trumbull County Tourism Bureau