By Debora Flora
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Two decades ago, I was a Youngstown-based print news reporter covering arts, entertainment and culture. My colleagues and I churned out daily stories and produced a weekly entertainment guide. Still, people told me, there is nothing to do here. They were wrong.
This perception persists in some circles. Worse, this is occurring in a period of local reinvestment and workforce growth. We are not talking among ourselves on social media. With projects like Foxconn in Lordstown and Kimberly-Clark in Warren underway, your potential future neighbors, colleagues and classmates are not only scanning posts, videos and photos for information on housing, education and health care – they are curious about quality of life here.
We have great stories to share. Just ask the tourism marketing leaders of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Youngstown is halfway between Cleveland and Pittsburgh, and also New York and Chicago. “We are a great stopover location,” said Megan Magnetta, executive director of Explore Mahoning.
Magnetta spoke of “Cranberry Moms” (a reference to the affluent township north of Pittsburgh) and their kids going to the Oh Wow! children’s museum downtown. Golfers play the two Donald Ross-designed golf courses in Mill Creek MetroParks. Clusters of antiques shops draw folks from Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh. Lake Milton is “a big tourist area,” and the area’s cost of living is tourist friendly, she noted.
Youngstown’s cultural melting pot vibe adds to tourism. People come here for the annual Simply Slavic Festival because “these things aren’t happening elsewhere,” Magnetta said. The same is true of events at Covelli Centre and Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre: “To have an indoor and outdoor option here is amazing. You do not necessarily want to go to those huge arenas. It is more intimate.”
Explore Mahoning’s target age group is adults ages 35 to 65, and Facebook is the best social media platform to reach them, Magnetta said. User-generated content in the form of local photos is posted on Instagram, which “hits a little younger,” she said. Look for videos on YouTube.
Magnetta graduated from Austintown Fitch High School and Youngstown State University. She was a co-owner of McConnell Marketing, which specialized in luxury hospitality for nationwide clients. “I got to travel all over the country. It was the best of both worlds,” she said of living here. Being one hour away from the Cleveland and Pittsburgh airports may be attractive to future Kimberly-Clark employees, she said.
Beth Carmichael is CEO of Truly Trumbull, which promotes that county as a tourism destination among people living more than 50 miles away. A Warren native and graduate of Harding High School, she attended Kent State University and moved away for 35 years. She worked in hospitality management in Florida and managed three convention and visitor bureaus in Missouri and California.
After returning here seven years ago, she realized how economic and social changes fueled public negativity. “We’ve been kicked in the teeth a lot. It’s hard to change that perception,” she said.
As “passionate advocates for Trumbull County,” Carmichael said, the Truly Trumbull staff recognizes the need for residents’ awareness of “visitor assets.”
The Grand Resort in Howland is the best resort in Ohio, according to U.S. News and World Report. Also boosting tourism are Mosquito Lake, the National Packard Museum in Warren, Courthouse Square in downtown Warren and the Amish settlement in Mesopotamia.
Two newer attractions in Trumbull County, Pastimes Arcade and Sweet Memories Vintage Tees and Candy, are “up and coming” among tourists, Carmichael said.
Previously, locals did not see Trumbull’s marketing materials. That is changing over time.
“It is important to have a multiplatform approach,” Carmichael said of social media. Facebook typically has an older audience, she said, and younger people turn to TikTok. Truly Trumbull uses both, as well as Instagram.
“Our marketing grows the visitor-to-resident pipeline,” Carmichael said. She wants to “ensure that people who come are having great, welcoming experiences,” and that family, friends and hospitality employees are up to date on cultural and recreational
opportunities.
Carmichael draws inspiration from Destination Cleveland, where marketing is about tourism and improving community morale. “They have landed huge sporting events,” including the NCAA Women’s Final Four basketball tournament. “They believe in themselves and work with residents to build up that pride. We want to learn from them.”
“What we do is economic development,” Carmichael said. Trumbull County realized $80.5 million in visitor spending in 2023 and 2024. In Mahoning County, visitor activity generated $140.8 million in direct household income revenues in 2023, Magnetta reported.
Imagine the return on investment when visitors become residents.
Let’s overcome perception. Reject YouTube videos touting dangerous sections of cities if they are not based on actual crime statistics. Do not perpetuate bias.
Stay informed. Follow The Business Journal’s arts and culture reporting, for starters. Interact with the tourism agencies’ social media accounts.
Join the Cranberry Moms, golfers, antiques collectors and others in all that this area offers.