Kocher, now 12 years into her tenure with Travel Butler County after beginning her tourism career in Colorado Springs, will share some of the selling points they use to get people to visit a place that doesn’t have oceans, mountains, theme parks or other popular tourist attractions.
“What I love about Butler County, coming from a destination with some marquee tourist sites, is how things here are always changing and growing,” Kocher said. “For example, when I came here there was no Voice of America MetroPark Athletic Complex. There was no Spooky Nook.”
“There’s always something new to talk about here. We get to be creative every day to bring people to Butler County. We don’t have a marquee attraction, but we have a lot to offer - from college towns to urban centers to suburban areas to great natural resources.”
“Destination Butler County” will be at 11:30 a.m. Tickets are $26 for Fitton Center members, $32 for non-members and are available at fittoncenter.org, by phone at (513) 863-8873, ext. 110 or in person at the Fitton Center box office.
“We always strive to be on the forefront of innovation and creativity in the tourism promotion space,” Kocher said. “That has taken the form of a variety of initiatives over the years from the Donut Trail to more recently our partnership with Wheel the World.”
She said, “Travel Butler County focuses our work in three main areas: marketing and communications, proactive group sales, and strategic development. Each area has seen incredible growth and award-winning initiatives over the last several years. I’m excited to highlight many of these wins.”
“Tourism is important to the local economy. It’s a competitive industry with destinations across the region and country competing to attract visitors to their communities. Travel Butler County’s work in actively promoting Butler County as a premier destination for leisure vacations, meetings, conventions, and sports tournaments is important to keeping local cities and townships thriving,” said Kocher.
Kocher and her team help to bring $1.5 billion in economic impact to the region, annually.
“A big part of Butler County’s strength is the variety of communities, businesses, and experiences that a visitor can have here. That variety helps us attract a wide range of visitors throughout the year. Each community compliments each other,” Kocher said.
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