ACCVB has digital trails for covered bridges, wineries
Jul. 30—SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — People looking for something to do in the area can use a pair of maps provided by the Ashtabula County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Maps are available for the the county's covered bridges, and wineries in the Grand River Valley area.
"We see a trend in people really exploring with their phones," ACCVB Executive Director Stephanie Siegel said. "And it's not that paper maps are obsolete, there still is a component of our population that really likes that, something about having a piece of paper in your hand.
"But there's such a huge increase in people looking for information on their phones, and we simply didn't have a tool that offered that, so we were missing those people," Siegel said.
The Covered Bridge map allows people to check in via GPS at the county's covered bridges.
"When you check in at five bridges, you get a free pin from us, when you check in at 10, you get a free hat, and when you go to all 19, you get a free tote bag," Siegel said. The map encourages people to visit more bridges than they usually would have, she said.
"It's happening, because they're coming here and redeeming their prizes, they're taking pictures, they're hashtaging them and sharing them with their friends, so we're creating little ambassadors traveling all around the county," Siegel said. "And because they're going to so many more bridges than they originally would have, they're seeing other parts of the county and stopping in places they otherwise wouldn't have gotten to."
The winery trail is somewhat different.
"We didn't want them going to all the wineries at one time, because that's not responsible, so instead, what we've done is every five wineries you check in at, you're automatically entered to win a luxury vacation to four to Ohio wine country," Siegel said.
Visitors will have until the end of the year to visit the wineries, and will receive one entry per five wineries they check in at.
"Some of the wineries have chosen to make offers, so for example, at Ferrante, you get a free Ferrante glass for a bottle of wine purchase," Siegel said. "So when you check in that offer is available if you'd like to redeem it."
The winery trail was launched on July 8, with no advertising.
"We've had almost 500 check-ins already and almost 300 people using it in the last few days," Siegel said on July 12.
The trail is in partnership with the Lake County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Ohio Wine Producer's Association.
"We're trying to be responsive to the tools that visitors are using," Siegel said. "We won't stop printing maps and guides, but we wanted to add another tool to the toolbox, and make sure that everyone is able to experience so many of our assets."
