Leah Koch, director of communications at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, says the theme park averages about 1 million visitors a year. “Most of them come from Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois and Missouri,” she said. “But we occasionally have families that travel across the country, and even some who travel from…
Dave Kirk
CVB trying to rebuild community calendar
There wasn’t much on the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s community calendar during the last nine months of 2020. Most things were canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. But it’s 2021 now, and the CVB wants to hear from people planning “tourism-friendly” events. “Our calendar keeps the public, both locals and visitors, informed of…
CVB wins ConventionSouth award
The Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Visit Owensboro arm has won ConventionSouth’s Readers’ Choice Award for the third time. ConventionSouth is a national multi-media resource for planning events in the South. More than 3,000 destinations were nominated for the honors. They were then placed on an online ballot and meeting professionals and fans…
CVB wins ConventionSouth award
The Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Visit Owensboro arm has won ConventionSouth’s Readers’ Choice Award for the third time. ConventionSouth is a national multi-media resource for planning events in the South. More than 3,000 destinations were nominated for the honors. They were then placed on an online ballot and meeting professionals and fans voted…
‘Kentucky’s Music City’
CVB wins honors for rebranding For the second year in a row, Visit Owensboro has won top honors for marketing at the recent Kentucky Travel Industry Association’s annual conference. The new International Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum, annual ROMP music festival, and recent selection as one of the top 10 music cities in…
Convention & Visitors Bureau steps up promotions campaign
Owensboro is working to push their name internationally, now coining the slogan “bourbon, barbeque, and bluegrass”. Visit Owensboro is buying two full pages in the Bourbon Review and maximizing their presence online. Traffic from the Bourbon Review’s website and various social media gives hundreds of thousands of tourists direct access to Owensboro’s attractions. New professional…
Owensboro carving out tourism niche with bluegrass, bourbon, barbecue
Owensboro has become well known for its biggest assets: bluegrass, bourbon, and barbecue. The annual bluegrass festival, the latest O.Z. Tyler Distillery addition to the Bourbon Trail, the world-renowned barbeque spots, and state-of-the-art riverfront park have landed Owensboro high on the list of cities in Kentucky ramping up their tourism. Now, local developers are drawing…
Tourism ‘trending in right direction,’ Calitri says
Owensboro has upped its tourism development game, and the results are beginning to show. According to the Messenger-Inquirer article, tourist spending is up 3% since last year. Owensboro’s rise as a tourist destination in coverage across the US and internationally has brought visitors from as far as Brazil and South Korea. President and CEO of…
2,900 expected Friday for OMG!con
Cosplay, anime, and video game lovers reunited once again to make this year’s OMG!con the best yet. After moving from Paducah to the Owensboro Convention Center to provide an atmosphere full of opportunity for its attendees, OMG!con has continued to grow bigger and better every year. Not only has the convention expanded in numbers, but…
Moonlite, Old Hickory win burgoo honors
When it comes to burgoo, Owensboro restaurants are hard to beat. Last month, USA Today and 10Best.com ran an online contest to see who makes the best burgoo in Kentucky. When the voting ended, Firehouse Sandwich Shop at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort topped the list. But Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn placed second. And Old Hickory…