2019 ANNUAL REPORT

Mission

The Mercer County CVB creates economic growth promoting the county as a destination.

Tourism is a tremendous economic driver in Mercer County!

The Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau is proud to present the 2019 annual report to our community and funding partners. Throughout the last year, we have seen growth in occupancy rates, ATV traffi c, industry projects and brand awareness.

In 2019, the Mercer County CVB invested heavily in numerous campaigns, focusing on outdoor recreation ranging from camping, hiking and ATVs, to campaigns designed to bring foot traffi c to our downtowns and increase ticket sales at our local festivals and theaters. Marketing efforts included a billboard, co-op plans with the WV State Tourism Offi ce, printed ads, digital campaigns, blogs, articles, and much more.

Looking ahead, we are excited to launch new advertising campaigns, build up our photo and video libraries, update our website, launch a community co-op program for events and offer more marketing workshops. We are also planning our first visitor intercept research study, to help us understand more about visitors. The staff and I are passionate about our work to attract visitors to the area. I am proud of our team and grateful for an outstanding Board of Directors, who believe in the promise of tourism in West Virginia.

Tourism is a tremendous economic driver for our area. As folks travel, they spend dollars at local restaurants, shops, gas stations and much more. I am excited to see growth in our downtowns, state parks, ATV Trails and much more. Here is to working together in 2020!

---

2019 Board of Directors

• Henry Jones, President
• Valerie Hendricks, Treasurer
• Joshua Cline, Vice President
• Skip Crane, Secretary
• Laura Gooch, Past President
• Jason Reed
• Kitt McCarthy
• Josh Parks
• Donna Lowe
• Greg Puckett
• Jim Spencer
• Dewey Russell
• John O’Neal

---

The West Virginia Accredited Convention and Visitors Bureau Program is a tourism development
initiative of the West Virginia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus. It is designed to encourage the state’s CVBs to better prepare and equip themselves to further the development and promotion of tourism in their area and the State of West Virginia. The state and its political subdivisions entrust valuable taxpayer dollars to CVBs each year for the promotion of attractions, events, tourism related businesses and activities and the soliciting of conventions and meetings.

This careful and thorough examination establishes select West Virginia CVBs as credible, effective partners with their public/private funding sources and the tourism industry as a whole.

---

Five Major Achievements in 2019

1. Executive Director Jamie Null graduated from the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College in Daytona Beach, Florida in March 2019.
2. The Mercer County CVB attended the Washington, D.C. Travel and Tourism Show in March 2019.
3. The CVB spent $2,200 in partnerships with 16 different tourism events and attractions. With the digital ads and events on Facebook, the CVB received 288,846 impressions and sold $16,000 in ticket sales.
4. The Mercer County CVB staff won an Stars of Almost Heaven Award for Best Social Media at the 2019 Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
5. The Mercer County CVB Board of Directors contracted with Randall Travel Marketing to conduct a lodging study of Mercer County’s hotels. The report revealed that area hotels create almost $18 million in revenue.

---

$111.3 million

Visitor spending in Mercer County topped $111.3 million compared to $106.4 in 2017.

4.6% increase

We are pleased to report a 4.6% increase in visitor spending in 2018.

626

hotel rooms are sold every night in Mercer County in 2018.

20,956

The Mercer County CVB sold more than 20,956 room nights than the previous year.

$52,660

Every night in Mercer County, $52,660 is created in hotel revenue.

---

Direct Spending for Mercer County

Direct spending by tourists	$111.3 million
Local and State Taxes	$9 million
Households in our county	24,882
Tourism Jobs	1,200
Earnings from those jobs	$27.3 million
Because of tourist spend in our region, each household pays	$357 less taxes

According to the West Virginia Tourism Office and a 2018 study by Dean Runyan Associates: “West Virginia Travel Impacts Research,” previous year, released in Oct. 2019

---

Campaigns

---

Digital Data

Website

Top Pages of the Website

Newsletter Database

Grew by 685 in 2019. As of 1/20/20, Mercer County CVB now has 1,031 newsletter subscribers. We also received 176 ATV newsletter sign ups in 2019.

ARC Campaign (ATV)

April-November 2019
$24,501.86
Results: 24,568 sessions to the website, 777 goal completions resulting in a 3.16% conversion rate. Plus an additional 757 clicks to lodging properties in Mercer County.

Top States Visiting the Website

1. West Virginia – 39,781
2. Virginia – 19,442
3. District of Columbia – 16,970
4. North Carolina – 10,883
5. Pennsylvania
6. Ohio
7. Illinois
8. Tennessee
9. Others

Last updated: July 9, 2025