Welcome to Forum 360.

I’m Mark Welfley, Thank you for joining us for our global outlook with a local view.

Where will your travels take you this summer?

A beach vacation, a camping expedition, sightseeing, some attractions in a big city or even a small one?

How about a concert or a sporting event?

For all of these travel experiences.

You need only look in one place.

Your own backyard.

That's right.

Northeast Ohio has it all.

Lake Erie, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the number one national park in Ohio.

The Rock Hall, Blossom Music Center, and the Cleveland Guardians, to name a few.

Home to more than 4 million people and 18 million visitors a year.

Northeast Ohio has developed into a tourism hotspot.

Today, we will explore how our area has emerged as a top tourism destination.

With Jen Brasdovich, Jen is the public relations manager for Destination Cleveland, a nonprofit organization for Cuyahoga County, spending every day helping more people discover the real Cleveland.

So welcome, Jen.

Thank you.

Nice to be here.

So Cleveland has remade its image over the last ten years or so.

Tell me a little bit about how how they did it.

Yeah, I think that's a really good place to start with, because the Cleveland of 2024 is very different from the Cleveland of 2014.

So actually it was just about ten years ago now, back in 2014 when Destination Cleveland introduced what we call the Cleveland Visitor brand.

that's, evolved into it kind of takes on a life of its own.

So that's the script, Cleveland, that you see all over the city.

it's the hashtag.

This is CLE.

But it's also about really, amplifying those authentic Cleveland experiences.

The people that are in Cleveland and really working to change perceptions of Cleveland on a national scale.

So, like you said, we've had over 18 million visits last year.

And every time a visitor comes to Cleveland, we're able to show them firsthand why Cleveland is such a great visitor destination.

So we know seeing is believing.

And those perception changing trips are just absolutely essential to remaking the image of Cleveland.

It doesn't only start with visitors, though.

It also starts with locals.

So back when we launched this brand in 2014 and we launched the Cleveland Visitor brand and really started to encompass everything that makes Cleveland a visitor destination.

34% of residents said that they would recommend Cleveland as a place to visit.

Now, that number is well over 80%.

So we're really seeing that work pay off.

But it is really about amplifying the voices that are here in Northeast Ohio, amplifying the businesses and the unique perspectives and the diversity we have here.

And once we get people here, we know that their minds will be changed.

Share with me a little bit about your journey, like how did you, how did you get here to Cleveland and, and are now the public relations manager for Destination Cleveland?

Yes -Tell me your story.

So, I am not a Northeast Ohio native.

It surprises a lot of people when they hear that because of my role and because I speak so passionately about Cleveland.

but I've been here for about three and a half years, so I'm originally from Western New York, so still the Great Lakes region.

I grew up, just south of Lake Ontario.

So just switched Great Lakes as I got older.

but I was in Washington, D.C. before this for about seven years.

And when the pandemic happened, I decided it was time for me to make a change.

I wanted to have a little more space.

I wanted to have a house of my own.

I have a dog.

I wanted my dog to have a yard of her own, which is not something that was affordable in Washington, D.C..

So I started looking at some other destinations around the area.

I didn't want to be too far from my family in Western New York.

Still, but I wanted to be somewhere where I felt that there was just a little something of everything and a place that I could be really passionate about.

And I visited Cleveland several times to see some friends here, and it just stuck out is the place to be.

So I came out here one weekend, looked at a bunch of houses, picked one.

I moved here in September of 2020, and I was still working remote from my job in Washington, D.C. when I moved here because it was the pandemic and I got really lucky.

I found this job at Destination Cleveland.

I knew whatever I took my next step towards, I wanted it to be something that I could be really passionate about, and that I would get up every day and just want to go to work and just talk about the work I was doing.

And so I think this role is, pretty much checking all of those boxes, but, I just absolutely fell in love with Cleveland, and I wanted to share that passion with everyone.

And I think my friends and family have experienced that pretty extensively.

but I'm really lucky to be able to share that passion with people all over Northeast Ohio, people all over the country, and just tell them what makes Cleveland such a great destination to be.

Yeah.

So, let's let's talk about what you get up each day and are dedicated and doing and that's, Destination Cleveland.

A little bit about the genesis of Destination Cleveland.

It's, you know, it's Mission Go maybe into a little bit more depth than maybe I did in the opening.

Yeah, sure.

So destination Cleveland, we're known as the destination marketing and management organization for, the greater Cleveland area, Cuyahoga County.

So what that means is that we are unapologetic promoters of Cleveland.

-So honestly, if you meet one of us, we are going to talk your ear off about Cleveland.

but our job is to get people to choose Cleveland.

So whether that's for leisure travel, people planning their summer vacations or just looking for a weekend getaway, or it's business travel, a large part of the people who come to Cleveland every year are business travelers.

So not only those people who are maybe coming to town for an overnight trip, for some business meetings, but also meetings and conventions are a big part of our business.

So we try to get meetings and conventions to choose Cleveland.

We host hundreds of them every year here in Cleveland, whether it's at the Huntington Convention Center or at the hotels or the other unique venues we have across the city in the area.

but once they're here, our job really kind of shifts a little bit.

So now they've chosen Cleveland.

Our job is to make sure that they have a great Cleveland experience, show them all of the places to go, all of the places to eat, all of the resources available to them, where they should stay, what they should see while they're here.

so that's really kind of Cleveland, destination Cleveland in a nutshell.

We we get people to choose Cleveland.

And we're here.

We try to make sure they have a great experience.

Yeah.

Right.

So let's focus on those, more non-business visitors.

tell me a little bit about a couple of places that everybody wants to visit when they come to Cleveland, or you steer them and then, a couple of hidden gems that either you love or that people have been here said, you know, you should talk more about X Hill Farm or whatever it is.

so a few common attractions or really popular attractions and a few, hidden gems.

Yeah.

Well, you mentioned one of them in your opening, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

That's usually when we mentioned Cleveland.

People are like, oh, the Rock Hall.

It's the thing that you kind of associate with Cleveland.

We are the city where the term rock n roll was coined.

We are the home to the world's only rock n roll Hall of Fame.

So that is what I think drives a lot of people to want to come to Cleveland.

They want to come to the city, they want to go to the Rock Hall.

But when they're here, they also want to do some other things.

So whether they're into arts or sports, we have that here in Cleveland.

So in addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we also have Playhouse Square.

Playhouse square, a lot of people don't know, is actually outside of New York City, the largest performing arts district in the entire country.

So you get that really big city feel and Playhouse Square, but on a small city scale, we like to call it a big city, midsize city without the big ego, you know?

So, and then the Cleveland Museum of Art is absolutely world renowned.

people come here from all over the world to go to the Cleveland Museum of Art.

They have art from, artists like Monet and Vincent van Gogh.

And the coolest thing about it is it's completely free every day.

It is completely free.

And the West Side Market is another big one that we see people wanting to come to Cleveland to experience.

So it's over 100 years old, vendors from all around the area, and really represents the diversity that we have here in Cleveland.

But if you're looking for something that's maybe, not the West Side Market, not the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you know, not taking in a Guardians or a Cavaliers game.

There are a few hidden gems that we talk about quite a bit.

So Heinen's grocery store, of course, there's the Heinen's chain all around the area.

And if you're a tourist coming to Cleveland, stopping at a grocery store is probably not that high on your list of things that you want to do.

But the one that's in downtown Cleveland is just absolutely beautiful.

It's in the old Cleveland Trust building.

So, it's got some great grab and go options for people who are visiting right there at the corner of Euclid and East ninth Street.

And, it gives people a chance to just really take in the architecture that's here in Cleveland, because if you look up, you have just this beautiful rotunda above you so you can grab your lunch, from the salad bar, from the hot bar, grab some sushi.

They even have a mitchell's ice cream stand in there so you can grab some ice cream, sit in the middle of the rotunda, and just look up and be immersed in the architecture and the beauty there.

So it's a hidden gem because it is a grocery store, but it's in a historic building.

So we always tell people, if you're in downtown Cleveland, you're going to want to walk down and check that out.

it is getting to be baseball season.

So we also talk a lot about the Baseball Heritage Museum and League Park.

these are places that if you're not from Cleveland, I think a lot of people haven't heard of it.

So we always encourage people, if you're coming to Cleveland to take in a Guardians game, maybe add this on to your stay because it's going to go hand-in-hand with your love of baseball.

but League Park is actually the oldest baseball park in the country, and the Baseball Heritage Museum, which is located in the old ticket stand, is just a walk through history of the game.

I mean, you had some of the biggest names playing there.

The then Cleveland Indians used to play there in the early 1900s, where they won the World Series.

Babe Ruth played there.

So if you stand at home plate, it's like I'm standing somewhere where Babe Ruth stood.

That's pretty incredible.

but it is a really cool walk through the history of the sport, including some of the minority leagues that exist in baseball, which is, a really awesome part of the diversity that exists here in Cleveland.

So it's a great way to get, acquainted with that as well.

And then Lakeview Cemetery, probably another place that's not on a lot of if if you're a tourist, you're probably not going to a city to visit a cemetery.

but in addition to being home, the final resting place to a lot of famous Clevelanders, you know, you've got, John de Rockefeller, Elliott Nash, president James Garfield over there.

Alan Freed, who was the deejay who coined the term rock n roll, is buried there, but there's just incredible architecture, beautiful landscapes there.

you know, in the spring, Daffodil Hill blooms so you could spend a whole day just wandering around and really experiencing the history there.

So again, probably if you're visiting a destination, you're not like, let me check out where the closest cemetery is.

But that's one that you don't want to miss if you if you're visiting Cleveland.

Sure.

So Garfield's tomb is there as well.

Right.

And it's more than just a mausoleum.

And I know there's I run it through the Lake View Cemetery, and, there seems like there's a lot of construction, but they, at one time, you were able to climb the stairs up to a viewing, platform.

Do you know if that's open or not?

Sure if that's open right now.

Yeah, but that would be an awesome view of the city.

And, and there's.

Yeah.

move south just a little if you can, closer to Akron, maybe.

And, share with me some of the places that you recommend in that area.

So if you're heading, closer to accurate, of course, you know, you're looking at the home of the the rubber ducks.

It's baseball season.

I can't help but talk about baseball right now.

So you've got the rubber ducks.

You've got Cuyahoga Valley National Park, of course.

I mean, it's one of the coolest things I can think of that you're within an hour you can be at a great lake, and then less than an hour later, you can be in the middle of a national park and Cuyahoga Valley National Park, completely free.

So an amazing experience to be able to get in the middle of a national park and not have to pay a thing, hell farm and village.

And it's just at the holidays, you know, all of the, the things down here just light up.

I mean, when you look around northeast Ohio, everyone who has a garden center or, a horticulture center, everybody decorates.

So it's just a really great opportunity to, to experience all of Northeast Ohio.

Yeah.

We, we took my son and his friends on, a little bus, and we went to the Cleveland signs.

There's a Cleveland sign in the flats, and there's another one up.

in other areas of Cleveland.

And it was just, you know, they had so much fun, climbing on them.

And I'm allowed to do that, but I don't know, I'm not sure, but you are allowed to.

Yeah.

And they were climbing on it and it picture taken.

And there was a great view of the city in the back.

It was really, you know, just a small little thing, but it meant so much to the student.

to the kids.

If you are just joining us, thank you very much, for both listening and watching.

My name is Mark Wellesley, and this is Forum 360.

And my guest today is Jen.

Brasdovich and Jen is the public relations manager for Destination Cleveland, a nonprofit organization.

Unapologetically, dedicated to making sure if you ever visit Cleveland, you, enjoy it and come back.

So, we were talking a little bit about, places to visit in Northeast Ohio, and we're going to continue on from there.

Do you specifically have a favorite place?

And it could be a restaurant, or it can be a whatever, that you like to visit in, in Cleveland or in Northeast Ohio?

I have a lot.

It would be, we would be here for many more minutes if we were going to talk about all of my favorite places to go in Northeast Ohio.

but I think one of the things that really stood out to me when I moved to Cleveland in Northeast Ohio is the incredible nature and green space that's here.

So whether I am, you know, at Edgewater Beach, along Lake on, Lake Erie, or if I'm down in Cuyahoga Valley National Park or any of the Cleveland Metroparks in between, those are probably my favorite places to be, to just be immersed in nature.

You know, Cleveland's a mid-sized city.

but when you get into those metro parks, when you get into the reservations and you get into the national park, you feel like you're in a different place.

so it's kind of like traveling the world without leaving Cleveland.

I think the West Side Market is also a top favorite of mine.

It's the place I take all of my friends and family when they come to visit, the diversity of vendors that exists there, the history that's there, the vendors that have been there for generations of their family.

I mean, you could spend all day just standing there talking to the vendors.

And it's just it's an incredible representation of what we're about here in Cleveland.

When I was at, Westside Market, they they actually cut a slice of pair and let you taste it before you actually buy it.

And I think I've ever seen that enough in a market.

Yeah.

Before, switching, the focus now to when large events come into town.

the draft you mentioned off air, prior to the interview here and, you know, the convention and others, like, what is the role of Destination Cleveland when, you know, a big event is coming to town?

Yeah.

So, Destination Cleveland doesn't host events ourselves.

What we really do is try to make the case for why events should be hosted in Cleveland.

So we're really more community collaborators.

So we'll bring all of the voices that need to be heard to the table to really make the best pitch for why Cleveland should be the place to host that event.

So if it's the Republican National Convention, if it's something like the NFL draft, or we just had the NCAA Women's Final Four just a few weeks ago, we're here to make sure that people know all of the assets that Cleveland can offer them if they choose to host their event in Cleveland.

And then once the event is here or it's coming up once they've chosen Cleveland.

our role is kind of twofold.

So first is the marketing.

If it's a consumer facing event like the NCAA Women's Final Four and the NFL draft, our job is to kind of support through marketing initiatives and let people know that the event is coming to Cleveland, that they should come to Cleveland and be part of the event.

Advertising, social media, ties on social media, advertising in key markets, we call them drive markets because they're places that people can easily drive to Cleveland from.

and just letting people know that these big events are coming to Cleveland.

And then we also have a portion of our business.

We mentioned the convention meetings and conventions that come to town, but we also have a services team.

So once an event chooses Cleveland, our services team does everything to help make sure that those people who are coming to Cleveland have the resources they need to make the best possible event.

So whether it's, helping them find the hotel rooms that they need or, once the event is here, setting up tables at those hotels so that people who are visiting for the event have all the resources about their weekend or their time in Cleveland.

that's really where our role comes in once the event is here.

But we're really more community collaborators.

We're all about bringing all the voices to the table, making sure all of the voices that need to be heard are being heard, and really telling people why they should choose Cleveland for those big events.

I love the successes.

I mean, this this collaboration with, Destination Cleveland and all the other, entities that pull this together have really done great, great work.

It's been really fun to watch and be proud of, for sure.

I'd like you to tell me, maybe you have a memory or a story about a person, a tourist, an event, something that kind of stands out in your mind that says this was really cool.

-Yeah.

Can you share with me?

Oh, absolutely.

Again, we could be here forever.

Just sharing stories.

I have two Cleveland memories that really stick out to me.

the first one is a personal memory from before I lived in Cleveland.

I came to Cleveland, pre-pandemic.

So it was probably about 2018, and I was going to go to a Cavaliers game, and I came downtown.

I went to dinner on East fourth Street at Mabel's Barbecue, another one of my favorite spots with my friends.

And I remember just standing on East fourth Street and looking at them being like, you didn't tell me all of this was here.

And I feel like when people come to Cleveland, that's what I hear from them, too.

When we have tourists who come into our visitor center, that's what we hear from them.

I didn't know thatvCleveland had this this and this.

I didn't know Cleveland had a beach.

I didn't know Cleveland had such a great food scene.

I didn't know it had all of these cool things.

so that's one of my favorite Cleveland memories.

The other one, it's a much more recent one.

But the NCAA Women's Final Four being hosted in Cleveland just a few weeks ago, I mean, we could not have had a better chance to to host that event in Cleveland.

We couldn't have hosted a better time.

The rise of women's sports over the last few years since we were awarded the event in 2018 has just been astronomical, and to be part of the excitement, not only for people who were coming to Cleveland just to want to be close to the action, people who didn't have tickets to the game but wanted to be in the city because the championship was happening there.

and to hear the stories from people about what great host people were in Cleveland, what a great time they had in Cleveland to hear all the things the players and the coaches had to say about the city.

It was a real point of pride for me to be part of that community and to be able to see how my work is affecting, an entire nation.

Really?

Yeah.

And the I mean, just the excitement in the air all weekend long, everywhere you were in Cleveland, the energy was just off the charts.

Yeah, yeah, I did.

You go to the game, I did.

Oh, you look, I mean, talk about energy off the charts.

It was just out of control.

But it was so exciting to be able to say, this is here.

This is in my city.

Yeah, yeah.

So looking forward, can you tick off a few events coming to town to Cleveland over the next year or two?

Yeah.

I mean, we've got so many on the calendar already.

So a big one that was just announced, WWE SummerSlam coming to Browns Stadium this summer.

And it's going to have not only the SummerSlam event, but it's going to have just a week long of week long of events.

But it's going to be happening all throughout Cleveland.

So that's going to be a big driver for us.

the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony returns to Cleveland this fall.

We last hosted it in 2021, so we're getting it back in the cycle now.

Includes the concert.

Yep, includes the concert.

So the induction ceremony and the concert, will be hosted at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse again this year.

So I mean, that's a great opportunity for us because you can fit so many people in that arena.

And it gives, Clevelanders and music fans from across the country a chance to be part of that excitement.

They can actually buy tickets and be there when their favorite acts are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is really cool.

we were talking about NCAA women's basketball.

Next year, we had the men's tournament coming to Cleveland, so we'll be hosting, the first rounds of the tournament in 2025. and then we talked a little bit about meeting some conventions that come to Cleveland.

So if you call ones that are coming, barbershop Harmony convention is coming here in July or 4th of July.

So if you're in Cleveland, you will definitely hear some, sweet harmonies going through the air.

And then we also have a really big industry event coming in August, which is the American Society of Association Executives.

And we talk about this one because of its economic impact, not only in the short term for what it means to be hosting that event and the money that will bring in from outside the area.

But what it has to do long term.

So, research shows that about 20% of people who attend that conference, they're all people who are looking to book their own meetings and conventions, and 20% of them will book within the host city in the next five years after hosting.

So it's a really great chance for us to put Cleveland out there on the business side of things and show people what Cleveland has to offer.

Yeah.

So cast your eyes ten years into the future.

Where do you see Cleveland?

I mean, how where do you see its evolution?

What are we going to see out of Cleveland in ten years?

I think we've come such a long way in the last ten years.

we talk about 2016 being a big banner year for us from hosting the Republican National Convention, the Cavaliers getting their championship.

You know, all of that happened in a very short span of time.

and that was really kind of a catalyst for us to really put Cleveland on a national stage and show what we can do as a city and show why people should choose Cleveland.

I think we're going to continue that momentum.

We've continued it for the last eight years, since 2016.

I think there's, just going to it's just going to keep building at the excitement is going to keep building.

We're going to see more big events, choosing Cleveland.

We're going to see more opportunities for Cleveland to be, shared on the national stage.

we have travel and leisure.

Name us is one of the best places to travel this year.

So I think we're going to see more accolades like that coming in over the next ten years.

And I'm hoping by 2034, you're not going to have anyone who's saying, why would I go to Cleveland?

You're going to have people saying, this is why I go to Cleveland.

I hope you're right.

I think they're already starting to say, yeah, blow me away with a statistic, about Cleveland.

Something that will surprise me.

I think a lot of people are surprised to know we talk a lot about Cleveland's diversity, but when we really put the numbers about around it, I think that's what really blows people away.

So Cleveland is a city built up of more than 117 different ethnicities, and those 117 different ethnicities represent 60 different languages here in Cleveland.

So, whichever neighborhood you go to, you're going to see representation from different areas of the world.

It comes through in our cultural celebrations.

It comes through in our food and drink that we have here, the great restaurants we have here, the businesses that are run here.

but I think it really surprises people to know just how diverse Cleveland is.

And great.

So I saw a story on the news, that retirees are looking more to retire in the Great Lakes region and in the northeast Ohio and Cleveland area.

more and more.

Then head to Florida or be a snowbird and move out to, Phoenix, Arizona.

comment on that if you would do.

Do you see that in your in your travels?

I, I've heard that research as well.

I think that it's absolutely amazing.

I think more people are realizing that Cleveland offers a little bit of something for everyone.

So for retirees, you know, if they're looking for nature, they have it here.

If they're looking for the art scene or, if they like music and theater, they have that here.

And to top it all off, Cleveland's within driving distance of about half of the country.

So I think if you have retirees who are looking to want to stay closer to their children, their grandchildren, it gives them the opportunity to do that.

But we're really seeing people choose Cleveland from all walks of life.

So, you know, people who are coming to Cleveland to be students here, people who are coming here as midpoint professionals, and retirees.

I think you're seeing the full spectrum choose Cleveland.

And it doesn't surprise me.

I think it's going to continue to be a trend that we see.

And we have water.

Yeah, water for sure.

Yes.

I want to go back to, a point you made earlier about the ethnicities and the diversity.

Do you do in, in encourage the, the visitors to go to, different areas of the, of the city and eat there, like, give them recommendations.

Yeah, absolutely.

So we talk a lot about the different neighborhoods that exist here in Cleveland.

we have a whole page on our website that's dedicated to every neighborhood in Cleveland.

So some of the big ones that we see interest in our little Italy, obviously located over near University Circle.

So if we have people who we know are going to be going to the museums, the art gallery over there will recommend they stop over to Little Italy, tons of mom and pop restaurants over there are really authentic taste of Italy over there.

And then in August, it becomes home to the feast of the assumption, which is a faith based celebration that celebrates the Italian culture here in Cleveland.

we see a lot of people choosing Ohio City as well.

it's really trendy, dining entertainment area.

So, in addition to downtown being an entertainment district, if you're on East fourth Street or in the flats, Ohio City is really growing there, too.

And you're seeing a lot of, different restaurants, family friendly activities over there, breweries, of course, the West Side Market we talked about.

So a lot of good stuff for people in Ohio City as well.

Thanks, Jen.

Travel Lemming listed Cleveland as the 30th best place to travel in the world in 2023.

As the saying goes, those who think there is nothing to do in Northeast Ohio have never been in Northeast Ohio.

And while perhaps that might have once been true, this popular quote has simply gone the way of the dinosaur.

Like happy, a 70ft long, 14ft tall skeleton of the oldest sauropod dinosaur on display in the world, which you can find at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

I would like to thank Jen Brasdovich from Destination Cleveland for her time and insights today.

And thank you for watching and listening.

And please keep your mind and your ears open.

Until next time on Forum 360.

Forum 360 is brought to you by John S and James L Knight Foundation, the Akron Community Foundation, Hudson Community Television, the Rubber City Radio Group, Sha, Jewish Community Center of Akron, Blue Green, Electric Impulse Communications, and Forum 360 supporters.