On this episode of Destination on the Left, I talk with Andy Clinton, CEO of Visit York County. He discusses why youth sports tourism is so important to his community and how reaching out to other successful destinations for inspiration has helped them build their visitor numbers. Andy also shares the details of the innovative strategies that Visit York County uses to grow traffic to their website, increasing it from 500,000 to over 2 million page views annually.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

Why youth sports tourism is crucial for York County and how the community leverages its local assets to attract major events
How Visit York County collaborates with local partners like the Chamber of Commerce and economic development organizations to enhance overall community marketing
Why short-form videos and digestible blogs are vital for engagement and how they have transformed their digital presence
Andy’s approach to benchmarking and reaching out to other successful destinations for inspiration and best practices
How Visit York County uses geolocation data to provide unique insights to local businesses

Youth Sports Tourism

One of the central themes Andy discussed was the burgeoning field of youth sports tourism. York County’s various state-of-the-art sports facilities, including a nine-court basketball facility and softball complexes, position it as a prime location for national and international sports events. With events like the Adidas 3SSB basketball circuit and the NCAA Cross Country Southeast Regionals, the county has been able to attract substantial hotel bookings.

Andy stressed the impact of accessibility on their success, particularly the convenience offered by the nearby Charlotte Douglas International Airport. This airport’s proximity allows for easy travel, attracting teams and visitors nationwide.

Focusing on Collaborations

Andy shares how Visit York County collaborates with the York County Chamber of Commerce and the county’s economic development department to build united marketing efforts. Their partnership ensures that they present a cohesive message that promotes the county as a tourist destination and a vibrant community with ample business opportunities.

We also discuss how Visit York County uses geolocation data to provide unique insights to local businesses. By analyzing mobile location data, they can report detailed information about their customer base to restaurant and brewery owners, such as the percentage of visitors from outside the county and the number of different states that customers are coming from. This approach allows stakeholders to see the tangible benefits of tourism and understand its significant impact on their businesses.

Getting Visible Online

A huge part of York County’s strategy has been continuously boosting its digital presence. Visit York County’s website has had an impressive transformation over the past few years, resulting in an impressive increase in traffic from 500,000 to over 2 million page views annually. The key to this impressive growth is in creating engaging short-form video content, great imagery, and digestible blogs. Topics like “Top Five Places to Pick Strawberries” and “Where to Find Santa in York County” have driven traffic and engaged tourists and local residents.

Resources:

Website: https://www.visityorkcounty.com/
LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-clinton-05720258/
LinkedIn Business: https://www.linkedin.com/company/visityorkcountysc/

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