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07/31/2020

Weekly Updates for Ohio's Travel Economy, July 31

New Guidelines and Mandates

EMERGENCY MEASURE TO BE DISCUSSED TODAY TO BAN LIQUOR SALES PAST 10 P.M.

Governor DeWine called for an Ohio Liquor Control Committee to consider an emergency measure to stop liquor sales at 10 p.m. wherever liquor is served, with all drinks having to be consumed by 11 p.m. If this emergency rule is approved after the committee meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m., the order will be signed Friday to be put into effect Friday night. This emergency rule includes all who serve alcohol. The existing ability of carryout meals to allow for two drinks will be expanded to a 3-drink limit.

GOVERNOR MANDATES JUNIOR FAIRS ONLY AFTER JULY 31

All fairs starting on or after July 31 will be limited to Junior Fairs only and will only include 4-H and FFA competitions. There will be no grandstand events, rides or games. Unless show events extend beyond, the Junior Fairs will have a 10 p.m. curfews.

Economic Impact

OHIO TRAVEL SPENDING DOWN $8 BILLION - LOSSES TO BUSINESSES AND COMMUNITIES

U.S. Travel released its report tracking weekly spending this morning. The Ohio travel economy has lost $8 billion since March, according to weekly reports tracking year-over-year activity each week. This loss means $500 million less federal tax dollars, $234 million less state tax revenues and $139 million less for local governments.

Funding Opportunities

APPLY FOR OHIO HUMANITIES CARES II GRANT STARTING TODAY 

In this time of pandemic and economic crisis, Ohio Humanities will use CARES Act funds provided by Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide grants to public humanities organizations throughout the state. OH CARES II Grants will provide direct support to organizations whose viability has been endangered by the sudden onset of the pandemic and economic crisis. $60,000 is available for applications requesting up to $5,000. The initial deadline is Aug.14. Additional deadlines may be announced pending the availability of funds. 

Federal Relief Proposals

WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THE HEALS ACT?

US Senate leadership released the HEALS Act this week that includes many of the requests the travel industry has advocated for the last few weeks. Look for several Legislative Action Alerts from OTA soon to help us get these inclusions to the finish line. Some of the items included in the first Senate version of the HEALS Act include the following (thanks to US Travel for providing much of this update): 

Not making it into this version of the legislation are the following. We will be asking you to urge Congressional delegates to include these in their final version.

Travel Research

CONSUMERS OPEN TO TRAVEL INSPIRATION, MASK-WEARING SENTIMENT AMONG TRAVELERS INCREASES, STRESS LEVELS MAY BE IMPACTING TRAVEL DESIRE

Destination Analysts released its weekly report today summarizing its research of 1,200 American travelers. Here are some highlights:

Other Tourism News

GOVERNOR APPOINTS WHITE CASTLE MARKETING EXEC TO TOURISMOHIO ADVISORY BOARD

Lynn M. Blashford, chief marketing officer at White Castle, has been appointed to the TourismOhio Advisory Board for a term beginning July 27, 2020, and ending Sept. 27, 2022.

 

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