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Governor Tomblin speaks about West Virginia tourism [Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va.](Charleston Daily Mail (WV) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 23--Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin appeared as a special guest at the 2014 West Virginia Governor's Conference on Tourism Monday at the Charleston Marriott Town Center to address tourism in the state. The annual gathering links professionals from across the state in an effort to improve the state's tourism industry. Tomblin said West Virginia's beauty and natural scenery allow people to enjoy a myriad of outdoor activities, which help boost the economy. "We do have so much to offer especially in the outdoors with skiing, whitewater rafting, ATV trails -- you name it, we've got it here in West Virginia," he said. "Tourism is a huge industry. It is over a $5 billion industry to West Virginia and employs 46,000 people in the state, so it's very big for our economy." Tomblin said it is important to get these people together every year to help find new ways to market tourism and gain positive attention in the state. "The collaboration between all the different tourism type businesses we have is very important," he said. "There's a lot of things to do and I think having conferences like this allows all the different people in the tourism industry to collaborate, look at new ideas and (it's a) way to attract more visitors to our state." The conference, which was hosted by the West Virginia Division of Tourism, the West Virginia Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus and the West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, opened on Sunday and will end today. Among the speakers were Google Official Spokesperson Daniel Sieberg, Vice President of Partner Engagement at Brand USA Amir Eylon and Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Tourism Amy Goodwin. Goodwin said this is a place where they can come together with ideas and suggestions to brainstorm ways they can get people engaged and move forward in order to grow the tourism industry. On Monday, she spoke on the new vision for the state Division of Tourism. Goodwin said they want to center on West Virgina's overall image, and learn what people think when they hear of hiking, camping and other outdoor activities offered in the state. They are looking at branding and marketing techniques to help encourage visits, with special emphasis on getting millennials involved. She said they will center in on an aggressive social media and research campaign, which will look at demographics and answer questions about why and where people travel in the state. "What we want to do is always remain true to West Virginia: 'Wild and Wonderful.' That's what we are," she said. "The good thing about the travel and tourism industry is that our natural resources are never going away. It will always be here." Goodwin said the theme for this year's conference is "Turn it UP," which will focus on multiple aspects of tourism in the state. "We all sat down to give our suggestions on what we want this conference to be. Start with the end in mind, what do we want people to hear from our speakers and from us and all of the thoughts were about the same -- we want more presence in the state. We want more videos. We want more photos. We want more collaborative efforts. We want more engagement," she said. "We have to turn it up in every single area of what we're doing. Not just one thing, it has to be several different things." At the end of her speech Goodwin shared a picture of a quilt, which is located in the Division of Tourism, made up of several small squares of different materials. Each square is different and makes a big picture of the New River Gorge Bridge. "If you sit and focus on that little teeny tiny square, that's all you're going to get. And they're beautiful squares -- some are satin, some are velvet, some are blue, some are pink, some are purple -- but if we're just focusing one square, i.e. one city (or) an attraction, that's not good enough because that's only one square," she said. "We want to bring everyone together and look at the bigger picture." Awards will be given to "shining stars" in the industry tonight to share and highlight tourism success stories in the hopes of implementing them in the future. Tomblin was appointed chairman of the National Governors Association Economic Development and Commerce Committee on Monday. The committee oversees a variety of issues ranging from transportation infrastructure to international trade promotion. Contact writer Shawnee Moran at 304-348-4872 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @shawneemoran22. ___ (c)2014 the Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, W.Va.) Visit the Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, W.Va.) at www.dailymail.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |