The Owensboro Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau has started its pandemic tourism recovery campaign called “Come for a Visit, Stay a Lifetime.” The concept is to welcome visitors back to Owensboro as the local economy begins to reopen.
“The tourism industry was the first to get hit, was the hardest hit and will likely be the last to recover from this global pandemic,” said Mark Calitri, President & CEO of Visit Owensboro. “It’s important for visitors to know Owensboro is ready for people to come stay in our hotels for business or leisure, enjoy our restaurants and visit our attractions.”
The campaign began with a video airing on social media featuring most of the area hotels and attractions.
“We tried to put an emphasis on Bluegrass, Bourbon and BBQ featuring the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, O.Z. Tyler Distillery and Ole South Bar-B-Que,” said Dave Kirk, Destination Manager for Visit Owensboro. “Of course, these are just a few of our many wonderful attractions and restaurants.”
Kirk said they are focusing their marketing efforts on a regional audience that includes people from all across the Commonwealth, southern Indiana, southern Illinois and northwest Tennessee.
“The research done by our partners at the Kentucky Department of Tourism and Kentucky Travel Industry Association tells us drive markets will be the first to come back,” he said. “This puts Owensboro at an advantage as we are within so few miles of much of the U.S. population.”
Calitri said all of Owesboro’s tourism partners have worked around the clock to follow and adhere to the guidelines set by the state.
“We’re so thankful to our partners for sacrificing so much to be in a position to welcome back our visitors, and locals for that matter,” he said. “Consumer confidence is the key to Owensboro’s tourism recovery. While we are still waiting to get the green light to start hosting sports tournaments and conventions, we feel confident Owensboro can begin recovery with leisure travel. Once someone comes for a visit, hopefully, that will lead to return visits and maybe one day turn into that person to moving to Owensboro to work or start a business in our community.”
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