Area seems to be to as soon as once more have nice tourism season regardless of virus | Information

BLUEFIELD – A pandemic made 2020 a difficult year for the tourism industry, but spring weather has arrived and tourists looking to relax outdoors are returning to Mercer County and the surrounding area.

The Mercer County Convention & Visitors Bureau (MCCVB) recently released an annual report highlighting the positive results that occurred in 2020 despite COVID-19. The Hatfield-McCoy ATV Trail closed in March 2020 but reopened in May and saw a rapid surge in rider numbers. In late February, Governor Jim Justice congratulated the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority on a successful season.

In 2020, the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System sold nearly 65,000 trail permits, the largest number of annual permits ever sold, and the 20th consecutive year that the number of riders has increased. Permit sales rose 15 percent from 2019 despite the pandemic. The trail system had more than 8,500 new riders in the trail system in 2020.

“Certain aspects of tourism have definitely increased despite the pandemic,” said Jamie Null, executive director of the MCCVB. “These are outdoor activities, state parks, and ATV riding.”

The local tourism industry is still facing the challenge of lost revenue. Local accommodations, restaurants, and other tourism-based businesses have missed out on interstate travelers’ money, gatherings, weddings, and other activities. Travelers going north and south on their trips to and from Florida have been missing, she said.

Now, with the advent of COVID vaccines, people are more comfortable traveling, Null said.

“Overall, there were still a lot of great things that happened,” she said.

The MCCVB worked to support local tourism in 2020 by taking action that included purchasing 100 gallons of hand sanitizer for tourism partners and investing in additional marketing for outdoor recreational activities, according to the office’s 2020 annual report. Because of this, Camp Creek State Park saw an increase in winter camping and an overall successful year, with Hatfield-McCoy Trails recovering immediately after the closings were lifted.

The office also created a COVID-19 resource page with information on travel, links to health resources, and community-related content. In addition, two local marketing campaigns were launched.

Social media, an email newsletter, and website helped the office keep in touch with people interested in visiting Mercer County and kept the area in mind when planning future trips. Other content encouraged them to stay safe by practicing social distancing, responsibly visiting the outdoors, and shopping locally, the report said. A digital relativity photo and video shoot, highlighting ATVs and Lake Shawnee, respectively, took place in 2020 and gave the office new content for marketing and promotional activities.

Social media highlights included 15,012 page likes on Facebook, with more than 900 new page likes in 2020. The office had 2,497 Instagram followers and 879 Twitter followers, according to its annual report. There were 1,941 newsletter subscribers, an increase of 21 percent since May 1, 2020.

Most of the visitors to the MCCVB website are based in West Virginia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The largest increase was from Maryland. Popular pages on the site included Lake Shawnee, ATV, and Shop Local.

Across the state line in Tazewell County, Virginia, tourist spots like the Spearhead Trail – which also includes Buchanan County – and the Back of the Dragon are seeing more visitors with the arrival of warmer weather.

And they’re staying longer, said Jake Laney, a member of the Back of the Dragon management team. There was some confusion when the pandemic started last year, but a lot more motorcyclists are arriving now.

“I think (pandemic) got us handicapped in the beginning, but now people want to get out there and have fun and enjoy their lives and we expect an even better season this year,” Laney said. “We have a lot of people from the Midwest, North Carolina, Indiana, Illinois, and the East Coast. Almost everywhere. “

The pandemic has made many people want to relax outdoors, said Shawn Lindsey, executive director of the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority. This brought more ATV riders to the Spearhead Trail.

“We’re really seeing people come in greater numbers during the pandemic,” Lindsey said. “I think it’s basically one of the safest things you can do.”

Outdoor recreation like ATV driving can make it easier to take action against COVID-19. However, visitors are still advised to wear masks, use hand sanitizer, wash hands frequently, and practice social distancing when in cities, restaurants, and other venues.

“It’s not like the pandemic is over yet, and even vaccines aren’t 100 percent,” Lindsey said. “The trail seems like one of the safer things to do during the pandemic, and we’re seeing some pretty good numbers.”

– Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com