POMEROY — Ohio Tourism Director Amir Eylon will speak at next week’s Meigs County Chamber of Commerce’s Business Minded Luncheon.

The luncheon begins at noon on Tuesday at the Wild Horse Cafe.

Eylon’s arrival coincides with May being declared “Ohio Tourism Month” by Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher. During May, the Ohio Tourism Division is urging Ohio’s convention and visitors bureaus, attractions, restaurants and lodging facilities to showcase Ohio’s tourism experiences. Tourism, as an industry, contributed $38 billion and 454,000 jobs to Ohio’s economy in 2007.

“This is peak travel planning time for visitors,” Eylon said. “We have assembled a number of partnerships for Ohio’s travel industry to combine our dollars and push our messages of affordable, high-value getaway opportunities out to consumers in Ohio and adjoining states.”

According to the Ohio Tourism Division, to help get the word out about Ohio’s tourism opportunities, it developed partnerships with Ohio’s 20 Barnes & Noble Bookstores and Ohio Magazine. During May, Ohio Barnes & Noble Bookstores are featuring Ohio Tourism Month with signage and book displays including Ohio travel/guidebooks, authors, photography, history, books about Ohioans and more. Additionally, each bookstore is holding a series of events that range from book author signings to events created in collaboration with Ohio travel entities to offer bookstore customers a taste of some of Ohio’s tourism attractions and experiences.

The Ohio Tourism Division also says Ohio Magazine’s May issue includes a 10-page section on Ohio tourism opportunities and 11,000 copies of Ohio’s official 2009 Travel Planner have been polybagged with Ohio Magazine for sale on newsstands in almost 800 stores.

“A majority of Ohio’s visitors come from about 300 miles of Ohio,” Eylon said. “Ohio is well positioned geographically (within about 600 miles of roughly 60 percent of the US population), from a value perspective and in terms of the variety of first-class, unique experiences the state offers to hold our own this year if travelers stay closer to home and seek affordable travel options.”

For those attending the luncheon, RSVP with Chamber Director Michelle Donovan by 4 p.m. on Monday at 992-5005 or at michelle@meigscountychamber.com.