The Trumbull County Tourism Bureau received recognition for its response to the global pandemic during the Ohio Travel Association’s Spirit of Ohio Travel state tourism conference this month.

The bureau received a certificate of achievement “for demonstrating the Spirit of Innovation in 2020 through the development of their #CantWait ToSeeYou #IfNotNowSoon campaign.

Due to the pandemic and resulting shutdowns and limits on capacity, there has been a $10.5 billion loss in traveler spending thus far in Ohio, based on weekly spending reports by Tourism Economics. Resulting job losses exceed all other Ohio industries, with current industry unemployment rates of more than 30 percent.

According to Executive Director Beth Kotwis Carmichael, “Our team is thrilled to be recognized for our work during this very trying time.”