Hot Topics: Lydia Mihalik talks Tourism

Lydia Mihalik tells the ladies about Ohio Tourism's fun event on May 10th.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We are back on a fully packed, jam packed, fun friendly show of
what matters today. And if youhave lived in the state of Ohio for
a while, you know how greatthis state is. Every single eighty eight
counties that border across the state hassomething to offer. This is the place
you want to go to. Andif you're noodle with the state of Ohio,

(00:22):
you're going to learn along the wayof what a great place you've moved
to, because it's not just aboutweekend trips getaways. We're living here.
We're experiencing the state of Ohio.And who better to talk to you than
the director of the Ohio Department ofDevelopment on this Sunday afternoon about everything that's
coming up Mindy director Lydia Mahaleck,director Mahalo. Good to see you and
stay up. Eighties. How areyou? We're great, But I'm kind

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of impressed because they brought the bigguns. Normally she just graces us with
their presence maybe once or twice ayear. But you know, we love
I've had for you well and Ilove to come on and hang out with
you. And you brought your family, which I love of yeah, and
your youngest my youngest delay Delaney itedBen a bit so nice to have you
back in the studio with us again. And Delaney just told her mom that

(01:08):
she is going to go to OhioState softball game next weekend. We're gonna
add it to the list. Whatare the many things you can do across
the state, But we want tofocus in on what the heck is Ohio
Tourism Day for those who don't know. Yeah, yeah, so look,
one thing that we always look forwardto every spring is Ohio Tourism Day,

(01:30):
and this year it actually happens onWednesday, May tenth, and it's an
opportunity for us to highlight the unlimitedattractions that are here in the state of
Ohio. There are destinations across thestate that people who either live in Ohio

(01:56):
or are visiting Ohio can come toand experience. It's all year long,
and this day is jam packed fullof places on the State House lawn,
places that you can visit or experience. Families can come down from eleven am,

(02:17):
I think to two pm on thisday and it's an incredible day of
fun. It's a day of fullof information and entertainment. You basically complan
what you're doing around Ohio for thenext however, many months to showing up
that day. Totally, I thinkwe have more than one hundred and twenty

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five tourism partners that are going tobe there. And what I think people
need to understand that are listening Ohio'stourism destinations. They change year to year.
Sure, there's so many new businessesthat come to the state. There's
so many different things to see.And do people think I've lived an Ohio
in my life. I've seen itall, I've done it all. But

(03:00):
that's not true Lydia. Now nowyou know, I think what we have
is, you know, we've gotthe things that historically are there when you
think about Ohio, so you thinkabout, you know, all of the
great museums that are here, oryou know the roller coaster experience that you

(03:23):
can do, but you're right,there's always something new and exciting and fun
popping up. We're starting and Ithink we've actually talked about this and it's
gotten a lot of attention and excitementI think between and three of us.
But Ohio's winery scene continues to grow. Just the opportunity to get out and

(03:44):
explore and experience that that particular funtime, particularly in like Ashtabula, like
in northeast Ohio. It's just gorgeous. But we have great representation on Ohio
Tourism Day from every corner of thestate. Yeah, tell us a little
bit about who's going to be showingup there that day. So what's what's

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really nice is that nearly half theexhibitors that will show up actually represent not
only Ohio's big, booming metropolitan areasof the state like Akron, Columbus,
Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, andToledo, but we've also got, you
know, some of Ohio's charming smalltowns, places like Athens and Belmont.

(04:30):
Trumbull County has some wonderful exhibits onhand. Even a lot of our suburbs
come out on that day. Sowe've got places like Dublin Grove City in
Westerville. They've set up they makesure that people know that they're also beautiful

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places to experience not only in thesummertime, but also year round. I've
been part of this before and itwas right there on the State House lawn
in COLUMBUSO Ohio's at the same location, yep, same place. The thing
that I liked a lot about Itis all these different places that you mentioned,
and so many of them have eithersamples of why to come and visit

(05:10):
their area, and all kinds ofpamphlets and information. So it really is
a one stop shop to learn aboutour great state of Ohio. Absolutely,
so they will have all of thesebooths set up. There will be samples.
You know, I think there isa Jenny's ice cream. They'll be
hands out handouts for that. Ofcourse, they'll be live entertainment. I

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know that we always get the kidslove um, you know, the characters
like they're walking around. I thinkSmokey the Bear always makes an appearance.
Our our minor league teams and MajorLeague teams also have the mascots that come
by, which is really great.So nearly half of the exhibitors will be

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these communities. But then we havemore than twenty of Ohio's museums that will
show up and participate. Rock andRoll Hall of Fame, our lovely friends
at Kosai who are incredible, amazingpartners, the National Veterans Memorial will show
up. We've got hidden gems thatmaybe people don't necessarily think about when they're

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planning their vacations to Ohio, likethe Harriet Beecher Stowhouse in Cincinnati, the
Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakanettanot too far from our hometown in Findlay,
right Delaney. And then this yearthe National Museum of the US Air
Force is celebrating it's one hundredth anniversary. So a really big thing to get

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excited about. So you can planall of this and where you want to
go, what you want to do, get some great samples on the State
House land. What day is itand what time will you guys be there?
Is March May May, sorry,excuse me, May tenth, eleven
am to two pm, eleven twoand trust me, it's going to be
a really big day. We're gonnahave some really exciting things to talk about.

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You're not going to want to missit. So telling you I,
like I've said, I've been there, and it is it is. If
you really want to experience Columbus andif you really want to learn of what
all this state has to offer,you don't have to go anywhere else.
But they're on the State House lawand that day it is. It's a
great, great opportunity. It's acool that's a cool, cool time.
How is tourism shaping up here inOhio in twenty twenty three. What's it

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been looking like? Yeah, so, you know, the beauty of Ohio
is that it's in really prime positionto attract tourists, not only for those,
like I said, who actually livein Ohio, but those who are
visiting because we're actually within a day'sdrive of sixty percent of the population of
the United States. Not every statecan actually say that. It's a really

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big year for aviation in the stateof Ohio. This year, we're hosting
three really big air shows in Ohio. The Columbus Air Show is going to
be held in mid June down atRickenbacker Internet. It's back after nearly twenty
years of being gone, So bigdeal. You're gonna want to see that

(08:09):
leaves again. Now enjoy the moment, right for the moment, right of
course. The Dayton Air Show happenslater in July, and then the Cleveland
National Air Show flies in over LaborDay weekend. So three really nice air
shows here in Ohio. And thenwe've got these major sporting events for those

(08:33):
of you who like that. Welike sporting events, don't we, duh,
And so that actually attracts a tonof people to Ohio. We've got
for all of you golf fans.Of course, the Memorial Tournament will be
back here um, coming up,um. And of course that natural that

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national coverage is always really great forthe state of Ohio. We love seeing
that as national exposure. It's huge. It's huge. If you look at
Ohio on a map, and ifyou look at the states that border it,
all of those states are very sportsoriented states. It's one thing to
come here and spend a day ora weekend, maybe a week here.

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But I really think there's more peoplewho are moving to live in Ohio than
before. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, and we're looking to take advantage of
that. I mean, we're we'reserious about business. We've done a lot
of work in the last several years. I think we've we've had a lot
of success relative to creating jobs.We've got a lot of great existing business

(09:39):
here in the state of Ohio.We've captured some pretty big wins, particularly
in central Ohio, over the lastseveral years. But the fact of the
matter is we're creating jobs faster thanwe could find people to fill them.
And we all know how great thequality of life is here in the state
of Ohio. But what's really niceabout our tourism industry is when we attract

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people here to visit, it canabsolutely lead to a lifetime of living here.
Look at Michaela. She came herefor a job and she stayed,
never went back and no family.Yeah, but you've created your own family
here and you're here, Michaela.You are a perfect example of what happens
in Ohio every single day. Absolutely, and I think the important thing and

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maybe you guys who are listening athome don't always make the connection, but
Ohio find it here. Tourism isa part of the Greater Department of Development,
which you direct, and so thisis something this development world is something
you're working in each and every day. And it sounds like you're connecting some
dots here between visitors and now recruitingto come into the state. If I'm

(10:43):
hearing this correct, that's exactly whatwe're trying to do. I think at
the end of the day, wherewe're trying to make sure that we more
holistically market the state of Ohio.It's not just a great place to visit,
it's an incredible place to live.It's an incredible place to come and
get an education. But when youdo all those ancillary things, it's really

(11:05):
big. By the way, tourismis really big business for our state,
really big business. It's a hugepart of our economy. But it allows
us to expose the state to thenation. And we though know that it's
only part of the puzzle, andwe want to be super bold in our
advocacy for Ohio. And the governorhas been very consistent in this for the

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last four years. He loves showcasingOhio and so moving forward, we're going
to be a lot more intentional.Can I tell you something, Yes,
as a person of a fifty fiveyear old who grew up here and now
raising a family here who's there intheir twenties, it is the best state
in the Midwest and beyond a raiseof family, and I think that's what

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Ohio is all about. It isall about family, including Delaney. I
want you to stand up steck nextto a microphone next your mom out of
all the places in the state ofOhio. Because we've mentioned wineries, but
that's kind of more the adult thing. What is your favorite place to visit
in Ohio? If you could haveyour choice to go anywhere honestly, where
would it be? Get right upthere to that microphone? You can get

(12:15):
right up there? What do youlike? Come on, delaneys, what
do you like? Delaney? Thisisn't a turk question? Do you need
to found a friend? Where doyou like to go in the state to
the Cincinnati Zoo? You got it? So Ida, Where do people go
if they want to learn more aboutTourism Day or what development is doing in

(12:37):
general? There's kind of two differentplaces, I know where you guys keep
information? Yeah, so there thereare a couple of key places. One
I'd go to Ohio dot org tolearn more about what we're doing with tourism.
To learn more about Tourism Day,I would also check out live in
Ohio dot org. We've got agreat landing page there to see what we're
doing on attracting people outside the stateof Ohio here to experience all of the

(13:03):
great things that we're learning are thatwe're doing to bring more people here.
But then Development dot Ohio dot orgcheck us out on social, Yeah,
to follow us on social. There'sa lot of really cool stuff there and
you can see all of our adventures. All right, Director Mahale, thanks
too much. For taking the timewith your family and thank you for helping

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you. Okay, this is whatmatters on six EN, WTVN