By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

From the theme parks to hiking trails to the antiques capital of the Midwest, word is spreading beyond the Tristate about what Warren County has to offer.

The Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau has been airing radio advertisements in the Charleston and Huntington, W.Va., area. Last week, it sent e-mails to more than 60,000 potential visitors in West Virginia and Indiana - and within a few days, had received about 500 responses.

Another round of e-mails will go out later this summer or early in the fall.

"We know it's working," says Margaret Drexel, the bureau's marketing director. "With the way the economy has been the last couple years, families want to stay close to home, they want to drive... and they want deals."

The bureau has been focusing on markets within driving distance, but far enough away that it is worth staying for a couple of days, Drexel said. The bureau did similar marketing last year, though this summer, it also has focused on the county's bicentennial events and history.

Some 6.6 million people visited Ohio's second-fastest growing county in 2002, the bureau said. Its attractions include Paramount's Kings Island, The Beach Waterpark, the antiques capital of the Midwest (Waynesville) and a world-class tournament at the ATP Tennis Center in Mason.

"We have, really, a mini Orlando right here in Cincinnati's backyard," Drexel said.

The bureau's push is working for The Beach, which has seen an increase in attendance the last couple of weeks, said Tara Nahrup, the park's public relations manager.

"We don't give out numbers, but it's up almost 50 percent from a few weeks before," Nahrup said. "The weather helps, but the advertising and more pushes to get people out here does, too."

License plate surveys in the parking lot showed more customers from West Virginia and Indianapolis, where the bureau has placed ads.

The Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau also partners with tourism officials in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky for the $400,000"Cincy Fun" campaign.

This is the second year for the summer marketing drive to steer business to 50 hotels and five entertainment attractions.

E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com