Ohio's Tourist Information Centers

Since 1984, Ohio has maintained one of the United States of America's more extensive networks of Travel Information Centers. Twelve Tourist Information Centers (TICSs), strategically located at the state entry-points to Ohio's Interstate System, provide tourism information, directions, maps and brochures to over twenty-five million travelers who visit or drive through Ohio annually. The mission of these centers is to provide travelers with information regarding tourism attractions that reflect both Ohio's rich history and contemporary offerings.

Michael A Massa, of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), served as Ohio's first Manager of Tourist Information Centers and served in that capacity as part of then Governor Richard Celeste's state Tourism initiatives. The TIC Program was a crucial element in the state's tourism theme of the 1980s, which was titled, "Ohio - the Heart of It All." A major component of that initiative was to convey Ohio's historical significance to those motorists entering and traversing the state.

In concert with the Ohio Department of Development's Office of Tourism, the Tourist Information Centers first debuted as a series of temporary structures housed by students and part-time employees at Ohio's rest area plazas. By 1988, Ohio officials had replaced these temporary structures with beautiful, new, full-featured facilities providing travelers with a diverse array of travel and tourism services. Currently, over two hundred full-time, professional Tourist Information Counselors now staff the Ohio Travel Center network throughout the state. [[Category:]] [[Category:]] [[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]][[Category:]]