To Coshocton County, tourism is a major blessing

Tuesday, May 3, 2022

The decline in domestic tourism from pandemic in 2020 wasn’t as great as predicted at first and the revival of the sector in 2021 was larger than what was estimated. It’s expected that 2022 will be even more powerful. The future of tourism in Coshocton County is positive, as per Mindy Brems, Coshocton Visitors Bureau Executive Director.

In June, new data will be published but prior to the pandemic, to the county, tourism generated over $58 million in terms of attractions, food and beverage, gas and lodging. That connects to $14.5 million in wages and 750 jobs, per Tourism Economics.

“People are surprised when they hear the total amount of sales is $58 million. They ask how is that even possible,” Brems said. “When you have successful tourism businesses, then you have successful businesses that support those successful tourism businesses.”

Brems explained that in 2020, tourism dollars were down about 20% over 2019. However, when pandemic started, she predicted about a 40% drop. Figures were up 34% for 2021 over 2020, which was greater than what Brems thought of.

“We were very conservative in making our estimates for our budget, because we didn’t really know with all the variants and everything, how people would respond,” Brems said. “I think what we saw was that people felt because we are a rural community, because predominantly Roscoe Village is outside, I think people perceive us as a safe place to visit.”

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