Financial constraints at Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau appear to be loosening up as its president and CEO said the bureau is preparing to bring back staff and has launched a safety campaign geared toward helping the post COVID-19 tourism market.
The Mountaineer Country Commitment to Safety Program is funded through a recent $5,000 donation by Southern Airways.
“Southern Airways’ donation was one to help the tourism market’s comeback post-COVID,” Susan Riddle said in an email to The Dominion Post. “We had been researching what the public/travelers were searching. We found they were looking for safe choices; wanting to do things outdoors, and were looking for self-guided choices. Therefore, we decided to use the Southern Airways donation to begin the “Commitment to Safety” campaign.”
To participate in the program, a business needs to go to the VisitMountaineerCountry.com and review the guidelines. These include:
- Following all proper cleaning and sanitizing frequently according to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
- Reducing occupancy in common spaces to ensure compliance with CDC social distancing guidelines.
- Requiring employees to wear appropriate protective gear and communicating an expectation that customers wear face coverings when physical distancing is not possible.
- Encouraging customer hand-sanitizing and hand-washing as available.
- Integrating contactless payment, express check-outs and Plexiglas barrier implementation where possible.
- Abiding by all current orders and directives issued by governmental and public health officials.
Mark Cestari, Southern Airways chief commercial officer, said the CVB has always helped the airline boost its Morgantown area presence and it was only natural to offer financial assistance in time of need.
“Morgantown’s one of our larger markets,” Cestari said. “Let’s use this money to help them out,” he said.
Once businesses make the safety pledge, they can then download an official commitment seal for their website. Riddle said the CVB will also provide participating businesses with a decal to display to guests.
“We aren’t the safety police,” Riddle said. “That being said, we want all of our guests to have a positive experience; therefore we only want businesses to participate that are committed to safety as defined by the experts.”
Since COVID-19 struck the Morgantown area in March, the CVB furloughed eight employees, laid off two part-time and one full-time staff member and Susan Riddle, the president and CEO, took a voluntary 20% salary cut. Much of the CVB’s funding comes from the local 6% hotel room lodging tax. It currently projects hitting 50% of its anticipated $1.5 million 2020 budget as a best case scenario.
“Each week we have been busier and busier,” Riddle said. “We have received several large group inquiries. People are figuring out ways to hold events or travel in new ways. This is exactly why our Commitment to Safety Program is so important at this time.”
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