Hotels in the county had a 4.75 percent increase in revenue per available room, according to the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

CVB President Mark Calitri cited numbers from Smith Travel Research, a company that tracks hotel supply and demand.

“Our hotels, their general managers, and their associates are on the front line generating these outstanding results,” Calitri said.

Calitri credited the support of the County Board of Commissioners and the performance of the CVB team.

He said Commissioner Ed Humphrey has provided critical support for development efforts, and that former Commission Bob Proud, who retired at the end of 2016, had a long and productive relationship with the CVB.

Clermont County’s newest Commissioner, David Painter, has expressed a strong desire to continue Proud’s support of tourism and the economic impact, especially the jobs it produces.

The county’s newest attraction, Scene75 Cincinnati, is one of the largest entertainment centers in the United States.

The center offers 12 indoor attractions and more than 150 arcade games and attracted more than 300,000 visitors in its first year of operation.

“Community focus is one of the main reasons for our success. Because of this success, Scene75 is expanding by adding three sand volleyball courts and a full-size, state-of-art bowling alley,” Jay Page, Scene75 Director of Sales, said.

“Now with over 130,000 square feet of fun, Scene75 is positioned to be a major factor in tourism in the region,” Page said. “We have groups coming from all across Ohio and as far away as the State of Missouri.”
Commissioner David Uible, a member of the CVB Board of Directors said, “Over this past year we have worked to build on the great success of 2015, where Clermont County hotels led the region in revenue growth.

The CVB continues to work extremely hard in the fierce competitive battle to draw visitors.”

Clermont County has earned the honor of hosting the USRowing Club Nationals for an unprecedented third year in a row.

“It was only five short years ago we lost major rowing events worth millions of dollars of economic impact. USRowing overlooked us as viable venue. Because of the efforts of the CVB, our stakeholders, and the business community, we were able to revitalize our venue at East Fork State Park and begin to attract major national sporting events,” Calitri said.

In the first two months of this year the Clermont CVB has announced important sporting events that will draw thousands of athletes, fans, and visitors, such as the Kings Hammer Blue Chip Showcase in April.

This event will draw more than 3,000 athletes and 250 college coaches from across the country.
Another key event is the Jewell Invitational golf tournament, hosted by Elks Run Golf Course.

“After having such a great year in 2016, we are excited to continue our momentum into 2017,” Calitri said.