HURRICANE, W.Va. — Members of Charleston Regional, Huntington Regional, and Putnam County Chambers of Commerce came together Wednesday to discuss the tourism impact in the Charleston-Huntington metro area.
The second annual State of Valley brought out nearly 500 people to the Valley Park Community City in Hurricane Wednesday morning where a table full of panelists shared their thoughts and experiences.
Kelli Steele, the Executive Director of the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), says her county is a great place to be between the state’s two largest cities.
“We are right smack in the middle of that metro valley, and we get an overflow of people staying in our hotels and eating in our restaurants and shopping in our stores whenever there are these big events that happen in the valley,” Steele said Monday.
Steele said the different CVBs in the area coming together to collaborate helps to make a bigger impact.
“How the different CVBs work together to promote the region as a whole, even though we all benefit individually, by working together, we can have a greater impact for the region,” Steele said.
State Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby says every different community in the area share a similar passion.
“The thing that ties them all together is the passion that people in West Virginia have for their communities and building those communities up, not just as community assets, but also for people to come and visit,” Ruby said.
Ruby also says that the purpose of the event was to highlight the importance of the Metro Valley when it comes to tourism.
“Looking at everything from Charleston to Huntington and all the collaboration going on between these communities to really move this area forward,” Ruby said.
Steele says there has been a recent shift in tourism numbers in the area, and it’s great to see.
“It’s been exciting to see that shift happening and I think we really need to lean into who we are and be proud of being West Virginians and Appalachians,” Steele said.
Steele also says the Appalachian culture is starting to flip the script and become well thought of.
“The Appalachian Culture is unique,” Steele said. “While historically, it might have been looked upon as something the outsides viewed as beneath them or in a negative light, I think there’s really been a shift in recent years towards that becoming something positive.”