Local tourism in the Grand Lake St. Marys area increased by 8 percent in 2012, Janice Barniak writes in The Evening Leader. Article highlights include:
- After a 25 percent dip in tourism because of lake issues in 2009 and 2010, the Auglaize and Mercer Counties Convention and Visitors Bureau celebrated an 8 percent increase in 2012 tourism, improving on the previous year’s 1 percent gain.
- CVB Director Donna Grube presented a local tourism report, showing total 2012 area tourism income at $44.5 million. The number is based on hotel stays in the area, which one of few measurable indicators in the tourism industry.
- Tourism, the CVB reported, supported 2,225 jobs locally in 2012, and has contributed $220.8 million to the Mercer and Auglaize counties’ economies in the last five years.