(WVVA News)
MERCER COUNTY, W.Va. – Tourism continues to play a pivotal role in Mercer County’s economy.
Visitors spent $203.6 million in Mercer County last year, an increase from $186 million the year before. The increase is a big positive considering ATV businesses lost out on money due to Hurricane Helene.
“A lot of our client base is down in that North Carolina area. Obviously you know they were not going to travel and we understood that so our ATV resorts did see a loss of revenue,” said Jamie Null, executive director for the Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
“On the flip side we had so many workers coming into the area to restore power and for those essential things that we need that it actually boosted up the hotel/motel tax,” said Null.
Null says the unfortunate circumstances helped October hold the highest occupancy rate for hotels. The average for the year was 61.3%.
Null says the CVB saw huge success on social media. More than 300 stories were circulated by media outlets which includes top tier outlets like Southern Living Magazine.
“One of the great things that we have done in the last couple of years is that we have concentrated a lot on public relations because we have got to get good stories out about Mercer County, West Virginia. We work with a team who is devoted to that. So they pitch Mercer County to journalists all over the country,” said Null.
Null says Mercer County also saw a 62% increase year over year in vacation rental listings being established.
Null says this year the CVB is going to focus in on bringing back more older visitors to the county and traveling more with their mobile visitor’s center.
“We’re going to be going to Roanoke, Virginia. We’re going to go to Bridge Day, it’s going to go to Charleston, West Virginia, some places in Tennessee. What we’re trying to do is really hit that regional area with our mobile visitor’s center to pull people in to Mercer County,” said Null.
Null says the CVB has also introduced an AI chatbot on the organization’s website which is aimed to help answer questions for visitors seeking quick answers.
To view the CVB’s annual report click here.
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