1. Tri-County Tourism Potential
Gallia County, Ohio
Meigs County, Ohio
Mason County, West Virginia

2. Tri-County Current Industry Profile
The majority of the Tri-County’s current job
market are manufacturing/industrial jobs
Remainder are health care, small
business, retail, telemarketing, mining, agri
culture and government

3. Poverty on the Rise
U.S. Census study shows
rising poverty for 2005*
Gallia County – 22.8% in
2005
 Up from 17.4% in 2004
Meigs County – 19.9% in
2005
 Up from 18.1% in 2004
*Sunday Times Sentinel, January
13, 2008

4. Manufacturing jobs lost
Between 1994 and 2004, the United States lost
nearly 3 million manufacturing jobs.*
What caused the loss is somewhat controversial
Regardless of the cause, the facts are we cannot
rely on manufacturing jobs in the Tri-County
area any longer
*www.networkideas.org/news/jan200
4/news13_NAFTA.htm

5. IT’S TIME THAT WE
MOVE ON TO A
NEW, PROVEN
INDUSTRY TO IMPROVE
THE TRI-COUNTY
AREA…..

6. Project Goals
Turn the Tri-County into a tourism mecca
Start with family entertainment complex as
first stepping stone
Have tourism as major industry in 10 years
or less

7. Description
We plan to turn the Tri-County area into a
major tourism center similar to the
Branson/Lakes area in Missouri with an
emphasis on the Ohio River and river
recreational activities

8. Branson Tourism

9. Branson Tourism
The Branson, Missouri area was host to an
estimated 8.4 million tourists in 2007*
This generated 1.8 billion dollars in revenue
*www.bransonchamber.com

10. Branson Tourism Demographics*
41% of visitors are families
59% of visitors are adults/seniors
83.5% travel to Branson via personal vehicle
10.3% are groups
Average visitor age is 56.7
Average length of stay is 4.3 nights
Average amount spent is $827 per trip
On a 1 to 5 rating scale, visitor satisfaction
measures 4.6
*www.bransonchamber.com

11. Branson Tourism Demographics*
83% - Shopping
78% - Shows
35% - Theme Parks
41% - Lake/Outdoor Activities
5.4% - Golf
3.7% - Fishing
*www.bransonchamber.com

12. Comparison to Branson, Missouri
Myth #1 – The Branson/Lakes area is much
larger than the Tri-County area
Fact – Demographics and population
similar to Branson

13. Branson/Lakes Population Statistics
According to 2000 Census*, there are 6050
citizens for Branson, Missouri
Two counties (Taney and Stone) combine
for 68,361 citizens
*www.census.gov

14. Tri-County Population Statistics
According to 2000 Census*, there are 4180
citizens for Gallipolis, Ohio
Tri-County area includes Gallia and Meigs
counties in Ohio and Mason county in West
Virginia
Tri-County population is 79,917
*www.census.gov

15. Population Comparison – City Level
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
Branson Gallipolis

16. Population Comparison – Multi-County Level
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
Taney-Stone Gallia-Meigs-Mason

17. Myth #2 – Branson has always been there
The majority of Branson’s growth has taken
place since 1983
This is referred to in the tourism industry as
the “25 year miracle.”

18. Population Growth Comparison*
*www.censusscope.org

19. Competitive Analysis
Competitors
We are in a unique position being in the heart
of Appalachia to not have many major
competitors in our 300 mile market area
Strengths
Location in a region that needs jobs
Already have a strong Chamber of
Commerce, Visitor’s Bureau, Community
Improvement Corporation and City and County
Government in place
State money available for marketing

20. Current Gallia County Tourism
Courtesy of www.visitgallia.com

21. Current Mason County Tourism
Courtesy of
www.masoncountytourism.com

22. Current Meigs County Tourism
Courtesy of
www.meigscountytourism.com

23. Current Tri-County Tourism
The French Art Colony
Chester Courthouse
Our House Museum
Tu-Endie-Wei State Park
Bob Evans Farm
Point Pleasant River Museum
The Ariel Theater
Forked Run State Park
Kanauga Drive-In Theater
There are currently only 397 Drive-In Theaters left
nationwide
This is a decline from 7,000 to 8,000 during the 1960’s
Many other attractions across the Tri-County area

24. Attraction Comparison
Tri-County Area1 Branson Lakes Area2
Movie Screens 8 3 (1 is Imax theater)
Restaurants 135 458
Branson, Missouri has
Concert Theaters 3(1060 seats) 53(59,757 seats)
more theater seating
Museums
Theme Parks
14
0
17
3
than the Broadway
Family Entertainment Centers 0 10
District of New York City
Golf Courses
Wineries
4
1
13
3
1Gallia County CVB, Meigs County Tourism, Mason County CVB
2www.bransonchamber.com

25. Concerts Held for Market
Research
From 2005 to Short list of
2007, 30+ concerts performers
held in Gallipolis Merle Haggard
Concert goers from 28 Trace Adkins
states came to see our
Charlie Daniels
shows
Dierks Bentley
Merle Haggard
Ricky Skaggs
attendance was the
largest at any single
day event ever held in
the Tri-County

26. Lines started forming at 8:30 am
Gates opened at 5:00 pm
Merle Haggard
18 acre lot filled quickly
Merle Haggard performance at 9:00 pm

27. Concerts Held for Market
Research
The success rate of these shows on a 10
point scale was 9.5
Lack of accommodations was the only reason it
was not a perfect 10 score*
*www.ticketmaster.com

28. Concerts Held for Market
Research
Our concerts have already shown our ability to
pull tourists from our 400 to 500 mile market
area
85% of Concert goers came from outside the Tri-
County area*
We had concert goers from as far away as*:
New York
Virginia
Missouri
Pennsylvania
Michigan
*www.ticketmaster.com

30. Branson Area Market Area
Population*
70,000,000
300 Mile Radius
60,000,000
 18,538,472 50,000,000
400 Mile Radius 40,000,000
 34,619,160 30,000,000
500 Mile Radius 20,000,000
10,000,000
 68,082,521
0
300 mile 400 mile 500 mile
*www.census.gov

31. Tri-County Market Area Population*
300 Mile Radius 140,000,000
 50,550,367 120,000,000
400 Mile Radius 100,000,000
80,000,000
 94,513,943
60,000,000
500 Mile Radius 40,000,000
 130,107,959 20,000,000
0
300 400 500
mile mile mile
*www.census.gov

32. Market Area Comparison
Potential Tourist Comparison
68,082,521
500 miles
130,107,959
34,619,160
Branson
400 miles
94,513,943
Gallipolis
18,538,472
300 miles
50,550,367
0 20,000,000 40,000,000 60,000,000 80,000,000 100,000,000 120,000,000 140,000,000

33. Potential Visitors
Branson, Missouri gets nearly 38% of it’s 8.4
million per year visitors from a 300 mile radius*
This equals 3.2 million from with 300 miles
Roughly 17% of 300 mile market area
Same percentage in Gallipolis 300 mile market is
8,593,562 yearly visitors from the 300 mile market
area alone
*www.bransonchamber.com

34. Potential Revenue
Branson visitors spent an average of $214 per
visitor.* If this average is spent per visitor
in the Tri-County area after achieving a
similar percentage of our 300 market area
visiting, this would give the Tri-County area
a potential of of revenue
generated per year for new and existing
businesses.
*www.bransonchamber.com

35. Tourism Market Comparison
Although the characteristics of the two areas
are remarkably similar, the market
potential is greatly in the favor of the Tri-
County area.

36. Myth #3 – Branson is easier to get to than Tri-
county area
Branson
 Stretch of subpar roadway between Branson and
Springfield
 No other major highways leading into the area
Tri-County
 Major four lanes from several densely populated
areas including US 35 which runs right through Gallia
County

37. Branson/Lakes Area Tri-County Area

38. Traffic
According to the Ohio Department of
Transportation*:
In 2006, there was approximately 5,000 potential
tourists’ vehicles that traveled through Gallia
County on US 35 every 24 hours
In 2006, there was approximately 15,000 vehicles
that traveled past the proposed site for the Family
Entertainment Center every 24 hours
 These figures include passenger vehicles only
 These figures nearly double when commercial vehicles
are included
*www.dot.state.oh.us

39. Airports Gallia-Meigs Regional Airport
The Tri-County area has a
small airport, Gallia-Meigs
Regional Airport, that can
help support the tourism
industry in this area
Branson has a small airport
similar in size to ours
Branson is currently
building a privately
Taney County Airport
funded airport to
broaden there tourism
base scheduled to open
in May 2009*
This is the first privately
funded airport to be
built in the US in 40
years
*www.ky3.com/news/local/11570221.html

40. Branson Airport

42. Hidden Valley Acres
One potential location for some attractions is
at the State Route 850 exit of US 35. There
are currently 142 acres of prime vacant
land on the market in the middle of Gallia
County. This location would provide
excellent visibility and accessibility on a
highly traveled four-lane highway.
Other locations are possible, this is just one
of many examples.

43. Central Location
Photo Courtesy of Wiseman Real
Estate Agency

44. Hidden Valley Acres
Photo Courtesy of Wiseman Real
Estate Agency

45. Lodging
Branson/Lakes Area has 207 lodging
facilities with a total of 18,808 rooms plus
over twenty RV parks and campgrounds1
The Tri-County Area has only 23 lodging
facilities with a total of 576 rooms and 15
campgrounds2
Our growth would have to include at least
18,000 rooms
1www.bransonchamber.com
2Gallia County CVB, Mason County CVB, Meigs County CVB

46. Jobs
In order to attract more tourists, more
attractions would have to be started and
staffed
In order to house more tourists, more lodging
would have to be built and staffed
This will have a trickle down effect on others
jobs as well, one example is construction
Although construction may be viewed as
temporary, Branson has been building heavily since
the early 1980’s with several major construction
projects ongoing and no end in sight

47. How does this benefit The Tri-County residents?
Increased revenue for current business
owners
Potential for new businesses
Increase level of job availability
Decreased taxes
Tourism will be able to pay for all of our
government agencies, public service
departments and our kids’ educations

48. Schedule
Although the tourism for Branson has built
over a few decades, the majority of the
tourist growth has occurred since 1983.*
We feel that with an aggressive
development and marketing campaign, it
can be mimicked in around 10 years.
*www.wikipedia.org

49. Current Status*
Currently Southeast Ohio only gets 7.3% of Ohio's tourists
34.0%
17.5%
23.0% 18.2%
7.3%
Southwest Northwest Northeast Central Southeast
*www.discoverohio.com

50. Current Status (Cont.)
The Southeast Ohio Region gets only 7.3%
of Ohio’s tourists
This region is made up of 29 counties
This means roughly a 1/3 section of the state’s
counties receives the least amount of tourists

51. Sources
Gallia County Convention & Visitors’ Bureau
www.bransonchamber.com
www.census.gov
www.censusscope.org
www.discoverohio.com
www.dot.state.oh.us
www.ky3.com/news/local/11570221.html
www.masoncountytourism.com
www.meigscountytourism.com
www.mydailytribune.com
www.networkideas.org/news/jan2004/news13_NAFTA.htm
www.ticketmaster.com
www.wikipedia.org