Maysville-Mason County Tourism Director Katelyn Bailey recently spoke to Rotarians at the Maysville Rotary Club’s regular weekly meeting.
“We have a lot of exciting things coming up this summer and then into fall, and we’re just kind of on cruise control until December right now,” she began.
Bailey stated that local tourism has been increasing with the recent addition of the Gardens at St. Patrick’s in Old Washington.
“We’re hoping to expect quite a few visitors coming in from there,” she expressed.
Bailey explained that diocese from across the country are planning visits, as well as religious and/or faith-based tours. The Gardens are also seeking a partnership with the Ark Encounter, the Creation Museum and the Faith Trail in Kentucky.
Afterward, Bailey began speaking about the upcoming Gus Macker Basketball Tournament.
“We’re so excited to have the Macker Man in Maysville this summer,” Bailey joked as she indicated the mascot in the corner of the room. “The Gus Macker Tournament is going to be July 11 and 12. And this is a national basketball tournament.”
She noted that, last year, 26 towns hosted tournaments nationwide. This year, there will be 36, with Maysville being chosen over several other cities.
“This event is going to drive economic impact while creating an exciting atmosphere downtown,” Bailey expressed. “We are going to have things like a slam dunk contest, free throw contest, food vendors. We’re going to have sponsorship opportunities for all of that and then volunteer opportunities. So, if you guys are interested in becoming sponsors or volunteers, please reach out to us.”
Bailey added that the tournament will draw individuals from places where other tournaments are being hosted, such as Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico.
She then explained that towns usually have 122 teams compete on average, with four players per team.
“So that’s what we’re shooting for, is the 120 teams. They book about 2.2 rooms per night. They register about 31 days out from the event,” said Bailey. “But the average hotel rate that they bring in is $112 per night, and the hotel revenue per event is about $30,000. So this is a large driver to our local hotels and Airbnb owners, but then also, these people have to eat at restaurants.”
After her explanation, Bailey spoke to Rotarians about Bandwango, a new software that the Tourism Department is implementing.
Bandwango is a free-to-use digital tourism pass that allows users to enjoy self-guided tours. According to Bailey, local historians will voice over tours for some of Maysville’s historic locations.
“We’ve realized that people, you know, want walking tours of downtown, walking tours of Old Washington, but they don’t necessarily want to commit to a two-hour time period. So this is actually a digital passport that people can hold on their phone, and they can listen to an audio recording of each of the sites,” she explained.
Bailey expressed her belief that this will drive foot traffic, encourage local exploration and provide data insights.
The Charles Young Corridor will be the first Maysville tour available, going live on April 18.
More information about Bandwango and how to use it will be released at a later date.
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