The Eastern Panhandle should be seeing an increase in tourism over the summer, thanks in part to a grant from the West Virginia Tourism Commission.  The Martinsburg-Berkeley County Convention and Visitors Bureau was awarded over $130,000 to put towards a marketing campaign that will showcase the Eastern Panhandle as a tourism destination of interest to the eastern seaboard.Andrea Ball, executive director of the CVB, told us that the Eastern Panhandle’s proximity to metropolitan areas such as Washington D.C. or Baltimore make it an ideal tourist attraction.  She says many people living in the city would see the area as a way to get out of the city for a more relaxed, small town feel.Ball says that the advertising campaign, entitled “Go West: West Virginia,” will highlight that many nearby areas can visit the panhandle roundtrip on less than a full tank of gas.  With fuel’s rapidly rising costs, she believes tourists will be attracted to the ease of travel and abundance of activities that the Eastern Panhandle has to offer.

Categories: Local News
Tags: Baltimore, Eastern Panhandle, economy, Gas, Travel, Washington, West Viginia