On Wednesday, November 15, the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority (SSCVA) hosted its Annual Partnership Summit at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond, Indiana. There were plenty of businesses, big and small, in attendance for the event to help celebrate the tourism company’s 40th year serving the Region.
The SSCVA is a marketing and sales company that assists its partners through the development and support of their attractions in the Northwest Indiana area, whether that is sporting events, tours, or to attract meetings.
“Both this last year and going forward we have tried to get bigger events more often, including some weddings, a lot of business dinners, business luncheons, and we do a lot with the chambers. We do a lot with municipalities and any kind of police or fire department, all of that,” Special Events Coordinator Kristin Taylor said.
The Partnership Summit topics incorporated an overview of the success the SSCVA saw during 2023 and its expectations for multiple business avenues for 2024.
“The partnership summit is something that has been going on for over a decade. It is one way to really showcase and review the past year of all the direct marketing that we helped to provide for the Region and a forecast of what it looks like going forward,” said David Uran, president and CEO of the SSCVA.
Tourism is the number one priority for business owners. They want their business to be a part of everyone’s leisure time when they visit the area, whether that be for vacation or just passing through. That is where SSCVA comes into play.
Looking towards the future, Uran and his team intend to create more and more opportunities for these businesses to succeed. With more tourism opportunities, it allows for there to be a major impact in the next few years for Northwest Indiana. Although tourism is a huge target for businesses in the area, that does not overshadow the fact that there are local residents who enjoy the local attractions as well.
“I am super excited about it. Our business booms every single month and we get more and more people requesting events and sporting events and things in our exhibit hall which we have not done in the past few years,” said Taylor.
The SSCVA has implemented a game plan that reaches a greater audience, including those local residents, that began with the adaptation of social media.
“Over the last year and a half since we have been here, we have put more of a social media market out there and our business owners have seen that being translated through more sales in their industry. Along with that, our partnerships are up 40% over the last year as well,” Uran said.
The SSCVA offers many opportunities to its partners including promoting events, marketing said events, and giving exposure that some businesses may not be able to obtain on their own.
Northwest Indiana has seen an increase in tourism activities since the end of COVID-19 pandemic in many areas. One being sports, which has a projected 100 plus sporting events in 2024, along with $40 million in estimated economic impact.
SSCVA has helped many businesses over the last decade. With Northwest Indiana on the rise, many businesses from the Region have either returned as a partner or are being welcomed with open arms as a new partner for the next calendar year.
“We are seeing returned businesses plus gravitation of new businesses to show how tourism plays a big part in the economic engine of the region, which supports the commerce of our private industries,” Uran said.
For more information visit https://www.southshorecva.com
