Mission
The Mercer County CVB creates economic growth promoting the county as a destination.
Tourism is a tremendous economic driver in Mercer County!
Dear tourism stakeholders and supporters,
It is my honor to present to you the 2022 Mercer County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s annual report. It has been a year of exciting new changes – a new home, a mobile visitor center and a new addition to our strategic plan.
Leaning on the success of 2021, the Mercer County CVB continued to push outdoor recreation. However, it takes many different facets of tourism to complete a destination. The arts, dining, shopping and events help round out our destination. With good partners, trip planning for advertising and public relations becomes easier, and memorable. In 2022, the CVB was able to welcome two travel influencers and hire a public relations company to continue raising brand awareness about Mercer County and West Virginia.
The CVB accomplished several goals in 2022. We will hit the road soon in our new mobile visitor center. Visitors are also able to visit us at our new location at 619 Bland Street in downtown Bluefield. We are excited to continue our partnership and share offi ce space with the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias.
Our 2022 annual report highlights all of these new changes and more. The success of tourism would not be possible without our board of directors, the Mercer County Commission, the cities of Bluefi eld and Princeton and the towns of Athens and Bramwell.
We look forward to 2023 in Almost Heaven.
PO Box 4088 Bluefield, WV 24701 800-221-3206 VisitMercerCounty.com
2022 Board of Directors
Executive Board
- Cindy Kraft – President BARK Board Member
- Jeff Disibbio – Vice President Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias
- Tammie Lucas – Treasurer Sinclair Broadcast Group
Board Members
- Patrice Belcher WV Turnpike Authority
- Henry Jones – exoffi cio Accountant/Rotary Member
- Julie Hurley Community Member
- Greg Puckett County Commissioner
- John O’Neal Mercer County Economic Development Authority
- Jim Spencer City of Bluefield
- Samuel L. Lusk City of Princeton
- Todd Boggess E T Boggess Architect, Inc.
- Ansel Ponder Bluefi eld State University
- Nicole Thompson Bluefi eld Area Arts Center/ The Granada
- Mandy Fink Bramwell Corner Shop
- Phil Lane VP Hotel Management
Visit Our About Page
Visit our about page to view upcoming meeting dates, annual reports and other partner resources.
$130.7 Million
in visitor spending in Mercer County
*Resource: Dean Runyan Travel Impacts Study 2021
200+ Partners
working to create a positive economic impact by increasing tourism spending in Mercer County.
207,861
hotel rooms the Mercer County CVB helped sell in 2021
10,000
(estimate) room nights sold along the ATV Trails in Mercer County
$38,350
investment by Mercer County CVB in Department of Tourism’s co-op advertising program
$342,000
spent in advertising and marketing
Top States Visiting the Website
- Virginia – 23,305
- West Virginia – 22,988
- Pennsylvania – 17,933
- Ohio – 14,607
- North Carolina – 11,700
- Others
Hotel Occupancy Rate
Data from Smith Travel Research
Increase of 1.4%
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| 62.3% | 41.3% | 60.2% | 61.1% |
Digital Data
313,701
Website Page Views
233,672
Website Sessions
1.34
Website Pages/Session
38 seconds
Average Session Duration
6,979
Partner Click-Thrus
870
Visitor Guide Requests
375
Newsletter Sign-Ups
401
ATV Guide Requests
750
Candy Cane Trail Sign-Ups
Social Influencer Campaigns
The CVB welcomed two travel influencers to Mercer County in 2022. Those visits resulted in
Results
- 148,179 accounts reached
- earned media value of almost $200,00 with a $6,000 investment.
Pineapple PR
Hired Dec. 2022
- 1 Million impressions in 2022
- Editorial Value = $27.8k in 2022
Campaigns
ATV Video Campaign
Budget: $25,400.24
Results
- 4,154,944 impressions
- 98,249 clicks
- click-thru-rate: 2.36%
Visitor Guide Campaign
Budget: $34,122.43
Results
- 16,637,396 impressions
- 37,474 clicks
- click-thru-rate: 0.23%
Holiday Campaign
Budget: $6,575.52
Results
- 2,391,426 impressions
- 13,798 clicks
- click-thru-rate: 0.58%
Four Major Achievements in 2022
- The Mercer County CVB won a “Stars of Almost Heaven” Industry Award for the best coop ad at the 2022 Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
- The CVB also passed through the West Virginia Association of CVB’s accreditation program. The process occurs every four years.
- A new mobile visitor center will hit the road in 2023. The organization is taking tourism in Mercer County to a new level with the purchase of a sprinter van, modified as a visitor center.
- The CVB moved in 2022. We now share a building with the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias. Here’s to continued renovations.