Thanks to clever marketing campaigns and the availability of using social media algorithms to personalize itineraries, more and more tourists are coming to Platte County to sight-see, hike, boat, swim, fish, and just experience adventures under our wide-open skies.

According to Kathi Anderson, Platte County Chamber of Commerce, the newly-hired West Edge Marketing Collective has made great progress in promoting Platte County destinations, hospitality and food, history, and the plethora of outdoor recreation in and around Platte County’s two state parks. The tourism campaigns are funded in part by Platte County Lodging Tax Board.

“West Edge got really creative and entertaining in their promotions. The campaign focuses on being Proud to be Platte, and on who we are as a county. They are also doing a lot of marketing outside Platte County to bring newcomers into the area,” Anderson said. “Tourists are enjoying things like winter hiking, and we are getting good feedback through websites and social media advertising. We are really seeing a lot of day-trippers spending time in the area, but we also look forward to overnight tourism.”

The number of travelers stopping at the Platte County Visitor’s Center located at the I25 interchange has increased. While they are at the Visitor’s Center, tourists are also purchasing park passes and spending their days there, according to Anderson.

“We are looking forward to the Oregon Trail marketing as well, which has not come out quite yet,” Anderson added. “Out of several options for promoting the Oregon Trail, we went with West Edge’s ‘Lots of Room, No Sharks’ campaign. There will also be a billboard promoting Platte County outside the Little Bear exit, but we are not sure when that will be in place.” All new promos will also appear on the Platte County official website:  wyplatteco.com. “Overall, our tourism is going up.”

While on the subject of tourism, Anderson also explained a potential partnership with Goshen County for a joint-tourism conference. “We are currently in discussion with Goshen County,” she said. “Directors of other chambers and members of lodging tax boards around the state will meet; and while there are plenty of places for people to meet and stay in Goshen County, there isn’t much tourism in there, so they want to integrate sight-seeing around Platte County into their tourism campaigns. This will hopefully take place in late summer or early fall,” Anderson said.