It's big weekend for tourism in Cincinnati. Americans for the Arts have about a thousand people attending a convention. Two exhibition baseball games featuring the Savannah Bananas will fill Great American Ball Park on Friday and Saturday. Plus, the FIFA Club World Cup is in town.
鈥淭hese demand generators are so good for us because it just opens the door to more visitors,鈥� says Randie Adam with Visit Cincy.
Adam says it's not clear how many people at the baseball and soccer games will be from out of town, but it's important to impress them. The idea is visitors will enjoy their time in Cincinnati so much, they'll tell others, and come back another time.
鈥淲ord-of-mouth marketing is one of the best ways to get people here, when they share their great experiences here, so that鈥檚 why the visitor experience is important,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need to make sure that they are welcomed when they鈥檙e in town, that they know all of the other great things that can add on to their experience. Do they know about the parks, do they know about the other events? Do they know about the Banks district?"
Great American Ball Park is sold out Friday and Saturday night for the Savannah Bananas. The team is to baseball what the Harlem Globetrotters are to basketball. The independent team has added and drawn crowds anywhere they play.
Soccer fans from around the country and the world are in town this weekend, as well, for FIFA Club World Cup play. Adam is excited for it.
鈥淲e have teams that we are hosting... and these matches are going to bring in their fans, whether they are from overseas or they are the fan base here in America,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such an exciting new FIFA tournament and we鈥檙e hosting the first matches here in Cincinnati.鈥�
Club World Cup play opens at noon, Sunday, at TQL Stadium as Bayern Munich face New Zealand's Auckland City FC.
TQL Stadium is hosting a total of four games, including two big-name German teams: Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.
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