Travel writers discover the wonders of southern Indiana
They came, they saw and they discovered an Indiana they didn’t know existed.
Fourteen travel writers, many who had never visited the state, spent five days in southern Indiana last month touring the best this region has to offer.
They visited Marengo Cave, Spring Mill State Park, Patoka Lake Winery and Marina, the Overlook Inn, Spirits of French Lick, French Lick Resort, West Baden Springs Hotel and Lincoln State Park.
The visit by travel writers from all across the country was the first of its kind for the region, said Amy Howell, director of tourism and marketing communications with the Indiana Destination Development Corporation.
“As a state agency we wanted to highlight the best of Indiana by bringing in national and regional journalists because we want to show people outside the region what Indiana has to offer,” Howell said.
The trip was planned to showcase the region’s best while highlighting its history, food, culture and outdoor recreation opportunities.
The visit was funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds from the Department of Commerce and the participating tourism and destination partners, including Discover Southern Indiana. Howell also coordinated a trip for northern Indiana.
The writers came from as far away as Seattle, Texas, New York and Oklahoma. Howell said the goal was to find travel writers whose work would be published outside the region where IDDC and tourism locales typically focus their marketing efforts.
“We market regionally because most people drive in versus fly in, but we want to change that,” Howell said.
The group was treated to a variety of experiences, including dinner under the famed West Baden dome and unique overnight stays at the Patoka Lake and Winery that included the floating cabins, houseboats and silo suites.
The feedback from the writers was glowing, Howell said, and also revealed how little they knew of Indiana.
“The most common comment I heard was ‘surprised.’ They had no idea these things existed in Indiana. A few had been to Indiana but not to these places,” Howell said. “They were surprised to find so much to do in this rural area.”
Tourism is vital to the area’s economy, employing 2,200 people. In 2020, visitors spent $280 million in the Radius region, according to an analysis by Rockport Analytics.
For those who work to promote southern Indiana, getting national exposure is a huge boost.
Heather Setser, vice president of operations at Patoka Lake and Winery, led the group on a tour of the winery and a wine cruise on the lake.
“The landscape took their breath away,” Setser said. “They loved the wine tour; having them here was well worth our time.”
Patoka Lake has the largest campground in the state and is the second largest lake in Indiana. The marina opened in 1998, floating cabins were added in 2001, wine cruises in 2009 and the winery in 2016. In 2017, an event center was added and work has begun on a 27-room hotel and distillery/brewery that will open in 2024.
Setser said travel writers have visited PLW before, but it was just one writer visiting from a nearby area and nothing like the visit organized by IDDC.
The winery and marina’s peak season is Memorial Day to Labor Day. Between its unique lodging options and wine cruises that sell out every year, it’s not hard to see the appeal but marketing takes money and there’s only so much to go around, leaving destinations to chooser between investing in their properties or spending on marketing.
Setser said for the past 10 years, the goal has been to extend the season and expand PLW’s reach by drawing visitors from farther away in places like Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati through added features.
“We want this place to be a destination and a place to gather for families, friends, bachelor and bachelorette parties,” Setser said.
Kristal Painter, executive director of Orange County Economic Development Partnership, accompanied the writers during their visit. She said the writers were impressed with the Hoosier hospitality that greeted them at every stop. They were also impressed by the region’s luxury accommodations at the French Lick Resort, world class spas and other amenities.
“It was a great opportunity to showcase not only Indiana but southern Indiana and how our region is so drastically different from the rest of the state and to see their reactions,” Painter said. “We were at the Pete Dye Course and saw the 40-mile panoramic views and they didn’t expect that because they think all of Indiana is flat.”
Kristal Painter, OCED executive director
The potential to tap into new markets without a big investment is huge, Painter said.
“Our typical market is a drive-in market, 3 to 5 hours away, so that’s where the marketing dollars are spent. This allowed us to expand our reach without a huge investment and tap into a market we’re not able to spend our limited marketing dollars on,” Painter said.
So far, the work of the writers has been published/posted in Forbes, NPR and the Oklahoman. NPR’s Tom Wilmer has aired several podcasts from his visit, including one that looked at how Orange County is solving its workforce housing crisis, another with Alan Bishop, chief distiller at Spirits of French Lick, and a podcast with Misty Weisensteiner showcasing all that Discover Southern Indiana has to offer.
Although tourism and seeing Indiana as a destination was front and center during the travel writers’ visit, Howell said the greater mission is for visitors to see the state as a place to put down roots.
“If they visit once, we hope they come back and visit, and want to go to school here, move here. It all starts with a visit,” Howell said.