Now that West Virginia hosts more millennial than baby boomer visitors, the state's tourism industry is finding ways to adapt to the demographic.
In addition to being more age-appropriate for many of the states' more adventurous outdoor activities, "millennials are eager to experience local flavors and tastes," said state Tourism Commissioner Amy Goodwin.
"We're seeing more restaurants featuring locally grown foods and experiencing tremendous growth in craft beers, thanks to last year's legislation" which cut licensing and fees for brewpubs and permitted the off-premises sale of 32- and 64-ounce "growler" containers, Goodwin said.
"Craft beer makers, wineries, distilleries and the culinary arts are becoming big players in the tourism industry by connecting people who come here for outdoor activities with places to enjoy with family and friends between those activities," Goodwin said. "Since the new legislation took effect last June, we're on the way to seeing the number of craft breweries on the way to doubling."
To help attract more millennials to the state, the Division of Tourism is now spending more than half its $6.5 million 2016-17 advertising budget on digital media, and has developed a free GoToWV app that makes it easy for visitors to find nearby things to do, be notified of special events, receive travel suggestions, plan trips and receive encouragement to explore more deeply. The app is available to download at GoToWV.com/app.
Meanwhile, Goodwin said, "no other state surrounding us can beat us in the quality of outdoor activities we offer. We have some of the best rock climbing and whitewater in the world," in addition to regionally superior skiing and mountain biking.
Goodwin made her remarks on Monday, during West Virginia Adventure Day at the Legislature, which drew representatives of 75 outfitters, parks, restaurants, wineries, distilleries, municipalities and other tourist attractions to the State Capitol Rotunda.
"A lot of people don't realize that we have 46,000 people at work in the travel and tourism industry in West Virginia," Goodwin said. That industry paid wages of more than $1 billion and brought in revenues of about $5.1 billion.
"We're not just the fun people, we're the jobs people," Goodwin said.
After last year's success with craft brewery legislation, tourism industry leaders would like to see this year's Legislature pass laws allowing Uber ride services to operate in a state largely devoid of taxi service; allowing Sunday alcohol sales in restaurants and lodging venues to begin at 10:30 a.m. instead of the current 1 p.m. to accommodate brunches and receptions; and promoting the development of statewide broadband service to give visitors the ability to stay connected to family and business matters at home.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5169 or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.