ANDERSON — The county’s bicentennial, the diamond anniversary running of the Little 500 and several other events helped offset the longer-than-expected closure of one of the area’s prime hotels near Interstate 69 and make 2023 a successful year for the Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau.
The area’s other hotels saw an overall 5% increase in occupancy rates, and the bureau’s revenue from innkeeper’s taxes also grew in a healthy manner, according to executive director Mark Thacker.
“From an events and traffic standpoint, I thought we did really well,” Thacker said. “We were pretty balanced throughout the year.”
The bureau was involved in promoting more than 1,000 events around the county last year, according to Thacker. He said a variety of homestead and farming events, historical presentations honoring Madison County’s 200th birthday and the return of the Gaslight Festival to the historic West Eighth Street neighborhood downtown brought tens of thousands of visitors to the area.
“I walked the (Gaslight Festival) quite a few times back and forth and just kept running into people that were just smiling ear to ear,” Thacker said. “They were enjoying…the festival coming back and seeing so many people they knew out and about on a beautiful weekend.”
Other highlights, Thacker said, were the return of the Breeders Crown to Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and Pendleton’s Community Sports & Wellness Center hosting Indiana’s largest pickleball tournament.
Concurrent with those activities, Thacker noted that the bureau spent considerable time in 2023 collaborating with other local agencies planning events connected to the upcoming total solar eclipse in April. He said many of those activities will cater to local residents, but a key challenge will be capturing the attention of eclipse watchers who may only visit the area for a few hours on April 8.
“How do we embrace them while they’re in town so we share a positive experience, so they’re willing to come back?” is how Thacker framed his approach.
He also said the bureau would be aggressive in marketing events to help supplement the weekend plans of out-of-town visitors.
“Some of the repeat (events), we try to talk six months to nine months in advance, just so people can be prepared,” Thacker said. “I might come into town for a wedding, but by the way, there’s also this car show. There’s a beer fest going on. How do I fill the rest of that weekend for those guests?”
