Columbus Welcomes Visitors and their Four-Legged Friends

Experience Columbus launches dog-friendly travel initiative

COLUMBUS – Dog owners know it can be “ruff” to leave their four-legged friend home when traveling. As vacationing with pets becomes increasingly common, Experience Columbus is launching a dog-friendly travel initiative.

Research shows that more travelers are bringing along their pets. According to the American Pet Products Association, 37 percent of pet owners take their animals on the road, up from 19 percent 10 years ago.

“At Experience Columbus, it’s our responsibility to watch consumer travel habits and trends so that we can continue to improve the city as a visitor destination,” said Kari Kauffman, vice president of tourism. “We’re responding to the increased demand we’re seeing from visitors in the marketplace to bring their pets along. This pet-friendly initiative is strengthened by the number of amenities and offerings Columbus has to accommodate them.”

In Columbus, there are nearly 90 dog-friendly travel options including lodging, attractions, parks and businesses. A new landing page, www.DogsInCBUS.com, will highlight each of these businesses, as well as provide tips and ideas for how visitors and dogs can make the most of their stay. Each participating location will have a special window sticker that says “Dogs Welcome Here” and a custom water bowl. Throughout the year, Experience Columbus will incorporate features on the dog-friendly travel initiative in social media, the bi-annual Visitors Guide and other marketing materials.

To learn more about dog-friendly travel in Columbus, visit www.DogsInCBUS.com.

###

Experience Columbus is the destination marketing organization for the Columbus region, dedicated to growing visitor spending and enhancing the visitor experience. In 2016, Columbus was ranked “Highest in Visitor Satisfaction in the Midwest” by J.D. Power in the 2016 Destination Experience Satisfaction Study^SM.  Annually, visitors make more than 39.3 million trips to Greater Columbus for conventions, tradeshows, sporting events and leisure visits, spending $6.4 billion generating $9.7 billion in economic impact and supporting nearly 75,000 jobs. For more information, visit experiencecolumbus.com.

Columbus, OH received the highest numerical score among eight cities in the Midwest in the J.D. Power 2016 Destination Experience Satisfaction Study, based on 26,124 total responses, measuring the experiences and perceptions of travelers who visited a top 50 U.S. destination, surveyed February-July 2016. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.