Creating Change in Ohio

Create change by staying informed on issues that could change the way the travel industry does business. The Ohio Travel Association ensures that you have a head’s up on pending laws, rules and regulations. It also provides the tools, opportunities and training needed to make your needs heard by decision makers. We do this by working with our partners in the industry to identify, strategize and address top issues and opportunities. With OTA, local voices can make the biggest difference.  

To tell the travel economy story, we must recognize the full economic and cultural benefits that occur when people come to town. Fact Sheet: Ohio Tourism Economic Impact and Power of Destination Promotion can help.

OTA Successes

In the past few years, OTA and its association partners have:

• Restored Great Lakes Initiative funding in the federal budget to help protect water quality and the environment.
  
  
• Protected the vital integrity of local lodging taxes in multiple communities to continue to fuel the economic cycle that occurs when people visit Ohio communities.
  
  
• Created a new funding model that doubled the marketing dollars available to TourismOhio for marketing Ohio travel.
  
  
• Created a way to enhance Ohio agritourism experience through reducing liability and zoning amendments.
  
  
• Defeated expansion of the sales tax to many services, such as marketing, accounting, and legal, which would have significantly increased the costs of doing business in Ohio.
  
  
• Defeated a proposed statewide admissions tax.
  
  
• Secured a legislative mandate for an ongoing Department of Taxation report on sales tax generated from tourism-related activities.
  
  
• Supported passage of the Great Lakes Water Compact to protect our freshwater resources and served on the rule-making committee to write regulations.