Snow and Show season

We are often asked what we do in the "off-season."To be honest, there is no off-season in travel and tourism promotion. We are fortunate here in Ohio's Lake Erie Shores & Islands that we are able to market year-round activities, especially our amazing indoor water park resorts — great for warming up on those cold winter days.Or, if you prefer to embrace the cold, we've got great spots for outdoor pursuits such as winter hiking and (weather permitting) ice skating, ice fishing, snow-shoeing, and cross-country skiing.We also have some fantastic winter events, such as the Vermilion Ice-A-Fair, Taste of the North Coast and Burning Snowman Festival. Be sure to check out the events calendar at SHORESandISLANDS.com to see what's happening in the region.We've just wrapped-up production on our all-new 2019 Lake Erie Shores & Islands Travel Guide. This 180-page publication is a labor of love, painstakingly put together to assure the most valuable information on this amazing region for our visitors.We work hard to gather and verify information, write editorial, and include the best and most visually pleasing imagery of the area's sites and attractions. The guide is at the printers now and will be ready just in time for winter shows.Shows?The team at Lake Erie Shores & Islands is also busy all winter long interacting with potential visitors at leisure travel shows and with group travel planners at specialized trade shows. We take Lake Erie Shores & Islands on the road in the hopes that at our booth guests will be inspired to visit the region for either group tours or personal vacations.In 2019 we are debuting several new booth elements, which we believe will attract attention among other destinations represented at these shows.One element is a unique portable cart, used for storage of brochures and travel guides, built from the stern of a Lyman boat. Beautiful area imagery on tall towers will draw visitors in to our booth where our team will get the chance to tell them about all of our amazing sites and attractions and get the Travel Guide into their hands.Guests will also get to play with our new "Mirror-Me Photo Booth," which will enable them to get a photo with their choice of several backgrounds. A fun souvenir from a future getaway.The first show where we will represent the region is the Progressive Cleveland Boat Show, January 17-21 at the I-X Center. Next, we can be found at the AAA Great Vacations Expo in Columbus, February 8-10 at the Ohio Expo Center.The Lake Erie Shores & Islands group team will be marketing to destination wedding planners at the Today's Bride Show, January 26-27; motorcoach tour operators at Heartland Travel Showcase, February 22-24; and to business meeting and convention planners at Meeting Professionals International MidAmerica Conference, February 25-27.It will be a busy winter season for the Lake Erie Shores & Islands team — we hope we see you out-and-about enjoying the region. And, if you happen to be visiting one of the leisure travel shows, stop by and say hello.Jill Bauer