Auburn-Opelika Tourism looking for economic boost with Sports Council

The Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau (AOTB) recently held the inaugural board meeting for its newly-formed Auburn-Opelika Sports Council. The mission of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council is to continue developing the youth and amateur sports market in the Lee County area for the purpose of impacting our local economy. "Youth and amateur sports is one of the fastest growing market segments in the tourism industry," says John Wild, AOTB president. "It accounts for 25% of all travel nationwide and is virtually recession proof. People will cut their vacations, but they're not going to stop traveling to watch their son play baseball or their daughter play tennis." Wild indicated that the formation of the AO Sports Council, which falls under the supervisory and funding umbrella of the tourism bureau, will allow more penetration of this burgeoning market, a challenging goal with the limited number of staff currently employed with the tourism bureau. "We want to maximize our opportunities to pursue a variety of different events for the area. That requires an investment of time and manpower that is difficult to accomplish with the many other projects in which staff members and I are already involved on a daily basis. So we're depending on these key members of the community who are volunteering their time and expertise to help us reach our goals." www.aotourism.com