CVB Releases 2008-2009 Annual Report
Lewisburg, WV (October 26, 2009) - The Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has released its Annual Report for the 2008-2009 Fiscal Year spanning July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009.
“The tourism industry is a vital economic driver in Greenbrier County,” said Kara Dense, Executive Director of the CVB. “These statistics show how important tourism is to our county’s businesses and families.”
• Tourism supports 2,460 jobs and nearly $87 million in earnings.
• Tourism generates over $1.8 million in local government revenue and $14.2 million in state revenue.
• $214 million spent in 2008 by visitors.
• Greenbrier County ranks 5th in the state for overall travel spending (behind 4 counties that offer gaming).
• Tourism saves each household in the state over $700 in taxes each year.
Other highlights from the past year include:
• Based on visitors to the Greenbrier County Visitors Center, the top states of visitor origin are West Virginia at 46%, followed by Virginia at 19% and Ohio at 18%.
• Requests for information and visitor impressions continue to be impressive, including 2,714 visitors to the Information Center; 1,661 telephone requests; 48,562 magazine requests from the CVB’s print advertising campaign; 83,544 unique visits to http://www.greenbrierwv.com; 134,093 brochures distributed; 23 million public relations impressions; and 24 million advertising impressions (Impressions refer to the number of audience members who are exposed to a media message.)
• The CVB Mini Grant Program assisted 16 organizations with their marketing efforts in 2008-09 and has granted more than $205,000 since the program’s inception in July 2002.
The CVB will present the Annual Report to city and town councils throughout the county, as well as the Greenbrier County Commission, throughout the month of October. To see a copy of the report, visit http://www.greenbrierwv.com or call the CVB at 304-645-1000.
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