Vacation?
Stay-cation?
No matter if it’s a local resident or a visitor to the Wheeling area, the Wheeling Convention & Visitors Bureau now is distributing the best “handbook” guide for the region’s eateries, lodges and hotels, shopping areas, and attractions in the area.
And the best part? The guide can never be out of date thanks to the included QR codes this year.
“It’s your official guide to Wheeling and Ohio County as a destination,” explained Olivia Litman, the marketing director for the Wheeling CVB. “The QR codes allow people to go to the website so that way it’s always up to date. If there are changes that take place with the venue, an attraction, or the hours of operation of a business, our visitors and local residents will be able to see those for themselves and go at the appropriate time.
“In the past when QR codes weren’t available, sometimes there would be changes or cancelations, but now the inconvenience is preventable and that’s terrific,” she said. “We’ve had about 75,000 printed and we’re very busy right now getting that to the areas where we need them the most, plus they are along Interstate 70 and Interstate 77 so those travelers can see what the Wheeling area has to offer.”
The Visitor’s Guide also is available online and can be bookmarked for easy access.
“We are very fortunate in the fact that Beyond Marketing sells all the ads for the guide,” Litman said. “This year’s guide is a little different than it has been in the past because there have been several changes take place in the area as far as what’s available. So the dining guide and the shopping and attraction guides have been changed to reflect what’s new in the area.
“Plus, we have many more hotels in the area than most people realize, so when they are checking to see what’s available in this area, they’ll likely be surprised because of the increase,” she explained. “But if they are planning a trip to this area, the best advice is to call now because our hotels get booked up early if there’s special events in the area.”
Thanks to The Highlands, the Highlands Sports Complex, Oglebay and Wheeling parks, and the attraction and shopping opportunities in Ohio, Marshall, and Belmont counties, availability for lodging can be a challenge.
“And we have more and more new businesses that are opening, and there are more events than I ever remember in the Wheeling area,” Litmann said. “There could be a regional volleyball tournament taking place at The Highlands Sports Complex that could fill all of the hotels in the area of The Highlands, so calling in advance is very important.
“And all of that information can be found in our new Visitor’s Guide,” she reminded. “Last year, even though we have thousands printed, we had to get more made because of the demand/ That’s a great problem to have because it’s proof that we are realizing a lot of growth in this area and that’s very important to the tourism industry.”
