We hope everyone and their families are doing well as we head towards the South Shore's busiest travel season! Memorial Day weekend will be here before we know it and our 2022-2023 Visitor Guides will be, too! If you would like to hand some out at your business, request them online here.
SSCVA News
For National Travel and Tourism Week we put together a video about our organization, what we do to bring visitors to the area and tourism's economic impact in the communities and local businesses! Watch it online here.
We also hosted a networking event and were excited to have Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch join us. Attendees enjoyed delicious food from some of our partner restaurants and had a chance to catch up with hospitality industry members and local leaders. See more photos from GreatNews.Life here.
Sports Development Manager, Megan Goodan spent last week at the Sports Events & Tourism Association Symposium. Industry professionals from around the country traveled to Fort Worth, Texas for three days of client appointments, education and networking. We look forward to continuing the conversation of the South Shore as a premier sports tournament destination and forming new partnerships!
More than 40 vetted journalists attended the Midwest Travel Journalist Association’s (MTJA) Spring Conference recently held in Fort Wayne. Visit Indiana sponsored an event where CVBs and attractions from around the state were invited to create a Maker’s Marketplace. We had the opportunity to interact with these writers to discuss story ideas and what the South Shore has to offer.
Heather Becerra and Jennifer Rush recently attended Simpleview Summit. Nearly 800 destination marketing professionals gathered to learn from each other on best practices, the latest in digital marketing and new products and services available for our website to tell our South Shore story to visitors
Region Updates
Looking for safe and reliable transportation to O’Hare Airport? Northwest Indiana has a new worry-free option to get you to the airport! Express Air Coach (EAC) offers daily scheduled ground transportation from Portage and Hammond to O’Hare and back.
For more information visit expressaircoach.com.
The 2022 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Baseball Tournament took place May 12-15 at U.S. Steel Yard, home of the Gary SouthShore RailCats. Purdue Northwest was 3-0 going into the championship game and then lost twice to the #1 seed Davenport who took home the championship.
The Shrine of Christ's Passion has an exciting, new addition - The Our Lady of Guadalupe Plaza featuring two magnificent bronze sculptures showcasing the vision that St. Juan Diego experienced high in the mountains of Mexico. A grand celebration will take place on May 22 at 1:00 pm. Learn more here.
Congratulations to the Schwartz Family who is putting Michigan City on the map for wine, with their large expansion of Shady Creek Winery including a sprawling 20-acre wine production facility with patios & porches, fireplaces and a tasting room.
Partners - Do you have anything new happening at your business? If so, pass along the information to barb@southshorecva.com and you could be included in next month’s “Region Updates” section.
Mark your calendars
ATTENTION all festival event planners!
Dates to remember for inclusion in the 2023 Indiana Festivals Guide:
- June 30 – Early bird submission deadline
- August 31 – Final deadline to participate
- December 31 – Guide delivered to 1,200+ locations in Indiana
Survey Says
This month’s question is:
Have you already, or will you soon, purchase a 2022 Indiana Dunes National Park pass?
Last month’s poll: What percentage of open positions do you currently have at your business?
We received answers across the board, from up to 10% to 51-60%
Partner Corner
Deep River Waterpark has a new way to work with local hoteliers.Previously, waterpark tickets were available for purchase at hotels’ front desks. To make it easier this year, hotels instead can just provide guests with $5 off coupons. This exclusive coupon is the largest discount the park will offer in 2022! Plus, the waterpark will promote the participating hotels on their website, social media and eNewsletters.
If you’re a hotelier and would like to provide waterpark coupons to your guests this summer or if you have questions, contact Tom Bergman at tom@deepriverwaterpark.com.
Please welcome our newest partners:
- Crown Point Courthouse Shops
- Duneland Distillery, Chesterton
- Epic Limo
- Express Air Coach
- I Dig Dinos, Griffith
- Lake County Corn Dogs, Crown Point
- Spring House Inn, Porter
- Speakeasy at the Spa, Porter
- The Crystal Lady, Crown Point
- Whiting/Robertsdale Chamber of Commerce
Hotel Occupancy
Occupancy is starting to level off in Lake and LaPorte Counties but increased slightly in Porter County and 5% in Jasper and Newton Counties. Average Daily Rate (ADR) has remained strong with an increase of 11% - 19.3% in Northwest Indiana.
