Tourism push aims for unity

Nine county convention and visitors bureaus in Northeast Ohio will meet next month for the first time to discuss travel and tourism as a part of a new marketing campaign called "Cleveland Plus."

The new campaign, referred to as "Cleveland + Akron + Canton + Youngstown," allows communities to be added to the logo and tap into marketing efforts.

The Sept. 11 Travel Summit will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Cleveland.

Representatives from the convention and visitors bureaus of Akron, Canton-Stark, Medina County, Ashtabula County,Geauga County, Lake County, Lake Erie Islands, Lorain County and Youngstown were invited, along with the membership base of Cleveland Plus.

The Cleveland Plus campaign is an alliance of three groups -- the Greater Cleveland Partnership, the Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau and

the economic development group called Team NEO.

"The idea is to share information, to work together to develop a plan to promote the areas as a region and to take advantage of the marketing available," said Samantha Fryberger, director of communications for the Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance. "It's not the first time we have met with the bureaus we meet with them often but it's the first time we've come together as an entire group."

She said travel trends will be discussed, as will ways to focus on some of the key attractions in surrounding areas.

"Cleveland is centrally located, but we can recommend wine and Amish country and amusement parks all within an hour and a half of Cleveland if people want to extend their stay."

"The summit will give the CVBs (convention and visitors bureaus) an opportunity to review the 2008 marketing plan and see what direction they may want to take," said Tami Brown, vice president of marketing for Cleveland Plus. "For example, it will give members a chance to buy co-op ads (sharing ads), pooling resources to get more impact for less money.

"Take the subject of parks -- They are all treasures, but they are also different. Some are more formal, others are noted more for history, so we want to emphasize the proper themes to each park, from history to arts and culture."

A brainstorming session will help define key attractions in each area.

The day will start with a global view and then move on to local efforts.

Brown said Gary Oster, senior vice president of business development for the Travel Industry Association of America, will discuss national and international trends in tourism, including "emerging voluntourism" people taking a vacation to do volunteer work, such as building a house.