Culture
Hocking Hills Recognized On TripAdvisor.com List
By: Katharine Hibbard | Logan Daily News reporter
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Hocking Hills is continuing its rise to get-away stardom as yet another nationally recognized travel website tipped its hat to the Hocking Hills.
Tripadvisor.com is a popular website that provides insight and reviews for anyone looking to take a vacation. According to the website, it is one of the largest travel communities in the world, reaching 315 million unique visitors each month and offering more than 200 million reviews about different destinations.
Recently, Hocking Hills was added to Tripadvisor.com’s list of 16 Great Places to Rent a Cabin.
“We’re thrilled!” exclaimed Karen Raymore, executive director of the Hocking Hills Tourism Association. Tripadvisor.com’s description of Hocking Hills states, “This Ohio gem has many great waterfalls. It’s wonderful in the summer, but also during fall, as the changing foliage complements the landscape. If you get a cabin here, don’t forget a camera.”
The list features other such attractions across the nation such as Cape Cod in Massachusettes, Big Bear Region in California, and Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in Tennessee, both of which the HHTA considers competitors.
“When we look at our competitive set as a destination, we look at what other destination offers similar experiences, and that ranges everything from recreation to accommodations,” explained Raymore. “Certainly Gatlinburg, while they are way bigger than us number-wise, they still offer the whole cabin-in-the-woods and ziplining and things like that, so Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are both definitely in our set.”
This is not the first time Hocking Hills has been recognized, having made a very popular media outlet’s “Top 22 Stunning Under-The-Radar Destinations To Add To Your Bucket List in 2014”. The list was published in December of 2013, and Hocking Hills was the only destination in North America to be mentioned.
In December of 2014, another high profile media outlet mentioned the Hocking Hills State Park as one of 15 under-the-radar vacation destinations, citing the incredible waterfalls and beautiful natural rock formations. It also recognized the cabins in the area, as well as the many campsites complete with electricity and access to hot showers and flush toilets. The only other North American site that was listed was the Gates of the Arctic National Park in Alaska.
“Of course, we as the HHTA have expanded our reach with public relations to bring in travel journalists from much further away like New York, California and Colorado that may have a broader reach as far as their media, whether that is in print or online,” said Raymore, adding that Hocking Hills made the cover of the Ohio Travel Guide in 2014.
Raymore states that regardless of advertising, nothing works like word-of-mouth, and they have seen a significant increase in the number of visitors to the area.
“When somebody has a great time on a vacation, they tell everybody they know,” said Raymore, saying that the natural beauty and sincere authenticity of Hocking Hills provides the refreshing get-away-from-it-all feel that travelers often desire.
“Consider the beauty of the region and the genuine hospitality of the people,” said Raymore. “I’m very pleased that our lodging owners, our restaurants, our shops, our attractions that are totally committed to exceeding traveler’s expectations. We may not have the most hotel rooms in the world, but I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing, we are distinctive.”
For more information about Hocking Hills events or camping, visit the Hocking Hills Tourism Association’s website at explorehockinghills.com.