Tourism brings $1.1B to county

YOUNGSTOWN -- More than a billion dollars.

That's how much economic impact tourism has on Mahoning County, according to a recent report shared by the Mahoning County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The biannual study conducted by the Tourism Economics group within Oxford Economics reports that conventions, concerts, museums, parks, sporting events, weddings and other attractions that bring outsiders into the county accounted for roughly $1.1 billion in 2025.

Visitors Bureau Director Tara Mady shared some of the report details with Mahoning County commissioners this week.

"I think it's collective, it's across the board: lodging, restaurants, local attractions, entertainment," Mady told The Vindicator. "They might come for one reason, then they discover all we have - they might only be here for a day or a weekend, but they plan a return visit because they want to come back and do more."

The report showed visitors accounted for $662 million in direct spending, and Mady said the county sees visitors for any number of reasons. Leisure travel brings them here for attractions such as Mill Creek MetroParks and the Butler Institute of American Art.

"I think living here, you take for granted Mill Creek Park and the Butler, that bring a lot of people here from out of the area," Mady said. "Those two places attract a lot of visitors each year.”

But sporting events like those at Youngstown State University and high schools, golf and baseball tournaments, cross country and wrestling events always leave local hotels booked.

Of course conferences, conventions and concerts at the Covelli Centre and other large venues, as well as the Hollywood Gaming racino in Austintown, draw crowds. And who, in perhaps the tri-state area, hasn't heard of White House Fruit Farm?

Smaller gatherings such as weddings and reunions also add up over the year, and Mady said those always bring opportunities for her bureau to hand out travel guides.

Mady said the county's geography also helps.

"With our location, people are traveling through and they stop because we're very accessible.

We're midway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, midway between New York and Chicago, with Interstate 80 right there," she said.

Mady said the county's appeal also has grown in recent years as people around Ohio have had more incentive to stay close to home.

"The past few years, we saw a lot of changes after COVID, where a lot of people looked for outdoor recreation, a lot of people have been staying close to home and traveling around the state," she said. "People from other parts of the state are coming here, realizing they don't have to go far, just make a few-hour drive and go somewhere with a lot of activities and attractions."

Mady said the county's rich culture also carries a lot of appeal.

"I think that is one of the biggest things, people know that you come here and get such a variety of great food and traditions," she said. "People who move away still say nothing is like what we have here - the pizza, all the food. Visitors can't believe what we have. We have so many locally owned places, and when they travel they want to go to local restaurants, not chains."

Jessica Trickett, curator at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, agrees with Mady.

"I think it's our ethnic diversity, we have such a great foundation of the background of immigrants who came here to settle the area, came here looking for a better life and their families and the people that came from them are still here, enjoying the life their ancestors came here for," she said. "I think it's just that diversity that we have, the wonderful restaurants and food that people love; it's really important. It might be cliche but people love it. They love the food and the culture."

Other attractions like the Canfield Fair and annual summer church festivals celebrate that heritage and draw people.

"The festivals and fairs where we celebrate the things that make us unique, they're also the things that we can all enjoy together," she said.

MVHS knows plenty about being an attraction for local residents and outside visitors alike.

"We have two museum sites that people love to visit - Arms Family Museum and Tyler History Center - where we explore local history," Trickett said. "We invite people to enjoy this beautiful home here at Arms, especially at Christmas time when it's all decorated for the season with vintage holiday items. People really love it; they get a sense of nostalgia when they come in, a lot of people get emotional when they see things they remember.

This year's theme for the Memories of Christmas Past display, now in its 18th year, is White Christmas.

"A lot of people really connect with that film, and we have some original artifacts here that people will see. So a lot of people are very excited about that," she said.

Mady said the annual display has won the attention of visitors from far and wide.

"I've heard people say it's much better than [Akron's] Stan Hywet. They tell their family and their friends. It's a powerful exhibit with the ability to bring people in," she said.

The display opens Nov. 14, and tickets are available on the MVHS website and at the Carriage House behind the museum on Wick Avenue.

More than the attractions themselves, Mady said, tourism means economic stability, especially jobs.

She said the study shows that visitor activity directly supported 9,949 jobs, provided $257 million in wages and generated $140 million in taxes, resulting in an estimated $717 in tax savings per household.

Given that kind of economic impact, some might be puzzled over why downtown Youngstown has struggled to grow and to sustain businesses, especially restaurants.

But Mady said the woes along Federal Street are only a snapshot of a much larger economic picture, and hopefully those woes will end soon.

Challenges such as the COVID-10 pandemic, years of construction delays and the Realty Tower explosion in 2024 hit downtown hard. But Mady said there is reason for optimism, given the attractions that still bring people to the city's center.

"I think the construction might have dissuaded people from coming, but now we're bringing a lot of people back downtown, with YSU, and making the downtown more accessible. OH WOW! does a great job of trying to bring people in. Their Silly Science Sunday brings a lot of people in, and they will then go to restaurants afterward," she said. "If you didn't come downtown during construction, now's the time to come back, because there's really a lot going on."

In addition to MVHS's attraction, the Visitors Bureau has published a pamphlet full of November and December events and attractions.

Beginning this weekend, those events include: the opening of White House's Winter Gift Barn, Holiday Fun Day at the Butler and the Midwest Holiday Antique Show at the Canfield Fairgrounds.