What We Do
The Land of Getting Inspired
Destination Cleveland is the only civic organization charged with marketing Cleveland’s brand to consumers outside of the region. Our job: to get travelers and meeting planners to choose Cleveland. Then we connect them to accommodations, restaurants, attractions and experiences - before or during their stay.
We’re also the steward of the travel and tourism industry, working with hospitality partners and the civic community to keep them informed about upcoming major events and help them prepare to provide visitors with great experiences. We offer travel and hospitality businesses exposure to potential visitors through our marketing campaigns and channels.
Who is a visitor?
A visitor is anyone who comes to Cuyahoga County and stays overnight or drives more than 50 miles for a day trip — that means anyone who comes to town on a temporary basis for business or leisure. That could be a group of friends on vacation, a business executive, a convention attendee, a family going to a reunion or even your favorite cousin coming to town for holiday celebrations.
How do you get leisure visitors to come to Cleveland?
Our work to generate interest in The Land is research-based, so we know where most travelers are visiting from and what they want to do here. We use those insights to inform our advertising, social media and story pitching. Some of the places we promote The Land include Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit and Cincinnati. And, when we host major events like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, NCAA Women’s Final Four and 2024 solar eclipse, we leverage those opportunities to create positive perceptions of The Land around the world.
How do you attract events to Cleveland?
Destination Cleveland’s dedicated sales team works with event facilities – such as the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland — and our hotel partners to attract meetings, conventions and events that range in size from 150 to 10,000+ people. By marketing Cleveland to meeting planners who select host cities for conventions and tradeshows, we help to fill the convention center as well as alternate venues. Our sales team has long-standing relationships with meeting planners from all over the country and actively pitches Cleveland as a host city for events.
What else does Destination Cleveland do?
Destination Cleveland is the steward of The Land’s travel & tourism industry, which produces $9 billion of economic impact for Cuyahoga County. We collaborate with industry businesses, attractions and the civic community to enhance the visitor product and experience. Our work includes:
- informing businesses about upcoming events so that they can prepare to provide visitors with great experiences and
- working with civic partners to enhance placemaking, directional signage and visitor infrastructure.
- offering exposure to potential visitors through our marketing campaigns and channels and
- educating elected officials to ensure understanding of the industry’s value.
How are you funded?
As a private, non-profit destination marketing and management organization, most of our funding comes from a portion Cuyahoga County’s lodging tax, which is paid by hotel and short-term rental guests. Destination Cleveland’s resources are mandated by State of Ohio law to measurably grow the travel and tourism industry for the maximum return on investment to the community.
Why is travel & tourism important for Cleveland’s growth?
Travel & tourism helps grow our economy by bringing visitors to Cleveland. Visitors spend money on hotels, restaurants, shopping and attractions, which in turn contributes to employment of residents and support of locally owned businesses.
Additionally, visitors are immersed in Cleveland’s experiences and return home with insights about and new or changed perceptions of Cleveland as a place to live, work, study or invest.
