Allyson Bussey President. 222 Market Ave. N., Canton, OH » PHONE » TOLL FREE

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1 Dear Industry Partners: Visit Canton is excited to share the results from our latest economic impact study. Tourism continues to be a powerful force in Stark County with visitor spending up 2% to $1.2 billion in direct sales, and hotel room night demand in Stark County up 12%. Visitor spending not only impacts the Stark County business community, it impacts our local residents by contributing $102.8 million to state and local taxes. Each household in Ohio would need to be taxed an additional $725 per year to replace the traveler taxes received by state and local governments. Plus, visitor spending supports 1 in every 13 jobs in Stark County, generating personal income of $317.5 million. Visit Canton is dedicated to the continued growth and development of tourism in Stark County. We believe in tourism s ability to improve the quality of life and generate economic growth for our Stark County communities. Please find more information on Visit Canton s efforts and the Stark County tourism economic impact cycle in this report. Thank you for your contribution to a thriving Stark County tourism industry as industry partners and leaders in the Stark County tourism community. We look forward to our continued work together to showcase this amazing destination! Allyson Bussey President 222 Market Ave. N., Canton, OH » PHONE » TOLL FREE

2 THE POWER OF Tourism Our Mission The mission of the Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau is to attract and engage visitors, serve and educate regional tourism partners, and generate economic growth for the community through travel and tourism development. DESTINATION MARKETING 3% Stark County Lodging tax is entrusted to the CVB for INVESTMENT INCREASED VISITOR SPENDING $1.16 BILLION in Stark County +2.3% 2017 ECONOMIC IMPACT CYCLE ADDITIONAL TRIPS INTO STARK COUNTY 649,270 hotel rooms nights sold in Stark County in % NEW JOBS & TAX REVENUES Supports 1 in every 13 jobs and generated personal income of $317.5 million in Stark County /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// VISITOR SPENDING ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Generated $1.8 BILLION in business activity impacting EVERY industry sector. Raised a total of $208.3 million in taxes including $102.8 million in state & local taxes. Average Ohio Visitor spends: $356 /overnight trip $111 /day trip *Data obtained from the 2017 STR Accommodations Report, and the 2017 and 2015 economic impact studies done for Stark County by Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics Company.

3 CONNECT WITH Visit Canton Contact Info: /CantonStarkCounty + /VisitCanton /VisitCanton ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// VISIT CANTON STAFF /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Allyson Bussey President allysonb@visitcanton.com Rosie Kurtz Executive Coordinator rosiek@visitcanton.com Tonja Marshall, Executive Vice President of Marketing & Communications tonjam@visitcanton.com Allison Row Marketing Coordinator allisonr@visitcanton.com Laura Perry Felberg Parnter Relations Coordinator laurap@visitcanton.com Toni Johnson Tourism Specialist tonij@visitcanton.com Mary Vlahos Vice President of Sales maryv@visitcanton.com Cindi Petty Sales Coordinator cindip@visitcanton.com Angie Gergely Event Services & Sales Coordinator angieg@visitcanton.com Board of Directors Chairman Scott Swaldo General Manager, Gervasi Vineyard Vice Chairman Daniel DeHoff President, DeHoff Development Company Past Chair Anne Graffice Vice President of Development & Strategic Adventures, Pro Football Hall of Fame Treasurer Joseph Daleiden Vice President of Commercial Banking, Key Bank Secretary Alexandra Nicholis Coon Executive Director, Massillon Museum Marion Coblentz President, Hartville MarketPlace Robert Fonte Director, Stark Parks Robb Hankins President & CEO, ArtsinStark Eric Hansen Director, LW Hospitality Advisors Ray Hexamer President, Stark Development Board John Logsdon Regional Director of Operations, Radius Hospitality Gerard Mastroianni President, Alliance Ventures Inc. Edward Murray Attorney at Law, Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths, & Dougherty Chris Nichols Director of Management and Budget, Stark County Commissioners Office Doug Palmer Vice President of Academic Affairs, Walsh University Renee Powell Owner, Clearview Golf Course

4 2017 Successes The mission of the Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau is to: Attract and Engage Visitors 19,487 visitor requests for information fulfilled 5,100 visitors assisted at the Akron Canton Airport and Downtown Visitor Information Center 10,480 industry partner referrals made to visitors 285,927 interactions with ExploreBoards 793,625 pageviews on VisitCanton.com 2,655,560 impressions on social media 10,886,057 paid digital advertising impressions Serve and Educate Regional Tourism Partners Underwrote $29,700 in cooperative advertising and marketing opportunities for industry partner participation Awarded $51,600 in grant dollars for Community Partnership Marketing & Events Grants Provided a Grant Writing 101 education session for 40 participating industry partners Conducted the 2017 Stark County Tourism Ambassador frontline training, graduating 28 STAR students Hosted a series of three Industry Briefing Days and a Merry Mixer Networking event Launched a new Volunteer Stark program, providing a free website and software for tourism industry partners to recruit and manage volunteers WHERE WAS VISIT CANTON IN 2017? Generate Economic Growth for the Community through travel and tourism development Attracted, Serviced and Supported 100 meetings and events, drawing 139,049 attendees and generating an estimated $35,626,629 in visitor spending Conducted sales efforts that contributed to 701 reported group tours that brought 39,041 visitors and generated an estimated $4,879,374 in visitor spending Secured the 2020 & 2021 NCAA Division III Football Championship, 2022 NCAA Division III Men s Volleyball Championship, and 2018 Jersey Cattle National Convention Increased the Stark County Convention & Visitors Bureau lodging tax from 3% to 6% in October 2017 Attended 18 event sales, group tour and leisure travel trade shows Hosted 75 event planners, group tour operators and media for familiarization tours and site visits in market Indianapolis Golf Show INDIANAPOLIS, IN AAA Travel Showcase, Pittsburgh North Coast Golf Show, Lenzner Motorcoach Travel Showcase, Breakaway Tours Travel Show PITTSBURGH, PA S.P.O.R.T.S. The Relationship Conference CEDAR RAPIDS, IA American Bus Association Group Tour Marketplace Cleveland, North Coast Golf Show CLEVELAND, OH Ohio Society of Association Executives Annual Conference, Connect Ohio Tradeshow CINCINNATI, OH Going on Faith HOLMES COUNTY, OH Sales Blitz & Luncheon AAA Great Vacations Travel Expo COLUMBUS, OH National Association of Sports Commissions Event Symposium SACRAMENTO, CA Meeting Planners International MidAmerica Conference LOUISVILLE, KY Heartland Travel Showcase PIGEON FORGE, TN West Virginia Home Show CHARLESTON, WV Now York Times Travel Showcase NEW YORK, NY

5 TREE OF Support Ohio Political Items Conference Visit Canton s event support made possible in part by Community Partners: Visit Canton awarded $290,926 in grants and event support in 2017.

6 STARK COUNTY MARKETProfile FACTS & FIGURES Median Age: 41.6 Median Household Income: $50,994 Persons per Household: 2.4 Median Property Value: $129,800 Land Area: 576 square miles Milwaukee Buffalo New York Detroit Chicago Pittsburgh Philadelphia Maryland Indianapolis Washington, D.C. St. Louis Cincinnati Louisville Nashville Charlotte 9,300+ acres of parks 100+ miles of trails 20+ golf courses Stark County Population: 373,612 Population 50 Mile Radius: 3.6 Million Cleveland-Akron-Canton DMA: Rank #19 Total Households: 1,565,800 Total Adult Population: 2,995,000 Columbus Cleveland Akron Canton Within 500 Miles of the Stark County Regional Market: 30% of Total U.S. Personal Income 29% of Total U.S. Retail Sales 30% of Total U.S. Employment 30% of Total U.S. Population INDUSTRY PARTNERS 28 HOTELS 2,600 rooms 6 Bed & Breakfasts & 4 Campgrounds Occupancy 56% ADR $ RESTAURANTS Wineries, Breweries & Bars 72 RETAIL SHOPS & Art Galleries 50 MUSEUMS Attractions, Tours & Activities transportation Akron Canton Airport: Airlines: American Airlines Delta Spirit United Nonstop Service to: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O Hare, Detroit, Ft. Myers, Houston, New York, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa and Washington D.C. Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA): Public transportation across Stark County on 34 fixed routes. 18 Car Rentals, Taxis, & Shuttle Service Providers

7 Employment by Industry 16.7% Manufacturing 16.1% Healthcare & Social Assistance 11.1% Retail Trade 8.6% Educational Services 7.4% Accommodation & Food Service 5.5% Other Services (Except Public Administration) 5.3% Construction 4.9% Professional, Scientific, Tech Services 4.6% Waste Management Services 4.6% Transportation & Warehousing 3.3% Finance 2.7% Wholesale Trade 2.3% Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 2.3% Public Administration 1.8% Information 1.1% Real Estate 0.9% Utilities 0.5% Mining, Quarrying, Oil & Gas 0.4% Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting Cost of Living Housing costs are 38% lower than the national average. Overall cost of living is 14% below the national average EDUCATION 17 public school districts 80,000+ college students reside within a 25 mile radius 25,128 students enrolled at Stark County colleges and universities: Aultman College Malone University Walsh University Kent State University at Stark Stark State College University of Mount Union //////////////////////////////////////////////////// WHAT OUR RESIDENTS & VISITORS ARE SAYING ///////////////////////////////////////////////////// They have amazing restaurants and other fun stuff that you can go out and do after school. The shopping is insane in Canton! I love it. Current studnt, via Niche.com I grew up in Canton, and have lived in NC for 31 yrs. I would give my left arm to move back. There's great schools, food, shopping, history, SEASONS, entertainment, and it's a town that feels like a home. Susan Merritt Rodgers, former resident, Facebook "BEAUTIFUL place and people! Visitor, via Niche.com Everyone in the community is very friendly and helpful, won t find anyone without a smile on their face. Current resident, via Niche.com There s plenty of shopping, recreational activity, and access to the arts. If you like a traditional Midwest town where Friday night lights are tradition, you enjoy peaceful parks and trails, this is for you. Current resident, via Niche.com Canton, Ohio is a wonderful place to live. With a multitude of places to go and things to see right at your fingertips, it's hard to run out of ideas for things to do. Current resident, via Niche.com