May 9, 2008

Tourism officials upbeat about upcoming seasonBy Connie CartmellMariettaTimes.com

Spirits were high and so was foot traffic Thursday at the Fenton Art Glass gift shop in Williamstown.

Three tour buses had stopped to deliver tourists for shopping and glass plant tours. It’s the kind of day that makes Fenton folks smile.

“We still get people in here every day,” said Kerri Griffith, marketing manager of the Fenton Gift Shop. “Obviously we want to get the word out to everyone that we have a number of great events planned this summer.”

Fenton has already received inquiries about summer activities, and area tourism officials have also been busy fielding Fenton calls.

“We just had a call Wednesday from an antique automobile club planning a trip to Marietta this summer, and they asked about Fenton and if we could arrange tours and shopping,” said Kelly Blazosky, executive director of the Marietta/Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Blazosky is optimistic—not only about Fenton’s summer schedule—but about tourism events in general in Marietta, Washington County and the region.

“The calendar is packed this year,” Blazosky said. “Our inquiries are picking up pace, and we haven’t seen a decline in inquires.”

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