Ohio County Tourism Promotes Area At Travel Shows

Ohio County Tourism recently participated in Travel, Boat and Sport Shows in both Cincinnati and Louisville.

Amber DePrez of Amber’s Antiques & Eclectic Treasures & Hygge Haus talks with an attendee at the Louisville Boat, RV and Sportshow recently. Photo by Kendal R. Miller. Photo provided. 

(Rising Sun, Ind.) - The Ohio County Convention, Tourism and Visitors Commission (Ohio County Tourism) participated in Travel, Boat and Sport Shows in both Cincinnati and Louisville recently.

Ohio County Tourism attended the Cincinnati Travel, Sports and Boat Show at Duke Energy Center on January 17-19. A booth was manned by Commission staff and board members who promoted Rising Sun and County businesses, lodgings, events and tourist attractions.

Commission Board President Jim McDaniel, along with board members Jackie McAlister of Rising Star Casino and Dean Tuggle of Tuggles’ Folly B&B manned the booth during the event. Tourism executive director Kendal Miller and volunteer Larry Lorton also participated.

The Louisville Boat, RV and Sportshow took place on Jan. 22-26 at the Kentucky Expo Center. Director Kendal Miller, along with Amber DePrez, Rising Sun Main Street Board President and owner of Amber’s Antiques & Eclectic Treasures & Hygge Haus attended the event.

“It was a whirlwind couple of weeks with only one day off to restock in-between,” Miller said.

The Tourism Commissions first appearance at the Louisville Show, Miller explained that event officials estimated that nearly 40,000 people attended over its five-day run.

“While both events were great outlets to showcase Rising Sun/Ohio County, the Kentucky show was a little further away than Cincinnati. Many attendees weren’t familiar with our area and kept confusing us with Ohio County, Kentucky. This was a perfect scenario to introduce a lot of people to Rising Sun and Ohio County, Indiana,” said Miller.

Miller remarked that the travel shows are also excellent sources of feedback from people who have visited in the past, or are considering a future trip. Some attendees had relatives in the area with a couple having been born and raised in Rising Sun.

Since both shows showcased boats there was a lot of discussion about traveling to Rising Sun on the Ohio River.

“We learned that a lot of boaters were confused about our public boat docking, not realizing that any was available. Others weren’t stopping because we don’t have fuel available for sale. We realized that better signage may alleviate one of those problems,” said Miller.

Tourisms newly updated tourist brochure and county map were distributed, along with information on 2020 events, businesses, and tourist attractions.

For more information on Ohio County Tourism, contact the Visitors Center at (812) 438-4933, e-mail kendal@enjoyrisingsun.com, log-on to enjoyrisingsun.com or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.