By Patricia Beech-
Adams County Economic Development Director, Holly Johnson, on Monday, April 8, met with the Adams County Commissioners to review several issues being overseen by the ECD office including those focused on protecting the unique biodiversity of Adams County’s environment.
While Johnson and the ECD office pursue a $30 million dollar infrastructure package for the Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) Industrial Park near Winchester, she says they are equally concerned about preserving the county’s ecosystem.
“The biodiversity in Adams County is beyond what most places can even begin to envision,” Johnson told the Defender. “We are so blessed and fortunate to live here and we must protect it.”
In fact, protecting the area’s ecosystem is a critical first step in the industrial park’s development.
Johnson and her staff are doing their due diligence to ensure no endangered species will be threatened by future building construction in the area.
“Our office pursues environmental grants because we want to do these studies ahead of time to ensure we don’t negatively impact our natural resources,” she says. “The fact is, once you lose them, you can never get them back,”
Tourism is one of the most important drivers of the Adams County economy. According to the latest report by the Ohio Development Services, tourism in Adams County jumped by 8.6 percent in 2017, more than doubling the statewide average growth of 3.5 percent.
A 2018 report on the Economic Impact of Tourism in Adams County showed tourism spending grew by 23.1 percent generating $42.1 million in sales in 2017 – both directly and indirectly as a result of tourism in Adams County.
The report by the Ohio Development Services goes on to say that tourism in Adams County created $14.7 million in wages (up 11.36%) and $5.1 million (up 8.5%) in state, local and federal taxes. The findings also say tourism is an integral and driving component of the Adams County economy sustaining 7.8% of salaried employment and employing 640 people representing a 6.5 percent increase in tourism employment from the last report. Tourism is a composite of various economic activities including recreation, retail, lodging, food and beverage.
The $42.1 million in sales represents the largest growth in Adams County tourism to date. It is a 23 percent increase over the 2016 when tourism sales generated $34.2 million in Adams County .
The local tourism trade has been trending upward in the county for nearly a decade. In 2013, according to the study, $29.1 million in sales were generated; in 2017, $42.1 million, representing a nearly 45 percent increase in tourism dollars over the past five years.
Tourism sales in Adams County are led by retail sales, food and beverage, transportation, recreation (hunting, fishing, boating) and lodging.
According to the report, tourism in Adams County generated $967,039 in local taxes
Johnson says the county’s growing tourist industry makes it imperative that economic and community development be given equal consideration.
“To attract tourists to our area we have to have clean air, walkable spaces, and activities for people to do while they’re in our county. We need to market Adams County for industry, but we also need to protect it. The rural pastoral life is why people like to come to Adams County – we need to make sure we preserve it as an important economic resource.”