The Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission met for a special-called meeting on Jan. 16 after the cancellation of their regular Jan. 13 meeting due to a lack of quorum. During the session, the board reviewed a clean audit report, analyzed data from their new Placer.ai contract, and shared updates on their recently launched TikTok account.
Executive Director Emily Roberts informed board members that the commission received a clean audit report. Although the auditor could not attend the meeting due to surgery, they are expected to present the findings at the Feb. meeting.
The board approved moving forward with McDaniel Marketing’s contract for the rebranding project.
City Attorney Jeff Tipton, of Tipton & Tipton Attorneys at Law, reviewed the agreement and recommended signing all 34 pages of the proposal. The updated contract excludes services the board opted not to include.
Board members approved renewing the existing line of credit with Cumberland Valley National Bank, which has been in place since 2017.
Roberts received board approval to attend the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (KTIA) event from March 4–5, where she will meet with legislators and discuss bills that may impact tourism. Registration costs $125, with additional expenses for lodging, food, and travel.
Roberts presented Placer.ai data to the board.
Placer.ai is a location-based data company that shares insights on where visitors are coming from, how far they travel, and other stops they make in the area.
The board recently entered into a 12-month contract with Placer.ai at a cost of $17,500.
The board completed onboarding and is now using the data to inform its decisions.
Data indicated that the City of Corbin welcomed 1.1 million out-of-market visitors in 2025, with a total of 9.7 million visits. Visitors came from across Kentucky and neighboring states such as Tennessee and Ohio.
The board approved a sponsorship request from Cumberland River Behavioral Health for the R&R 5K event. The event will be held in Williamsburg and is a fundraiser for the Children’s Summer Program. The board agreed to sponsor the event for $250.
Looking ahead, Roberts discussed several future initiatives to boost community awareness of tourism and local attractions. Proposals included creating a “tourism passport,” which is a booklet highlighting top attractions and restaurants, hosting an open house to educate the public about the tourism office, and forming partnerships with businesses, hotels, and hospitals near interstate exits to better inform passing visitors.
Roberts noted that Restaurant Week was underway, featuring businesses such as Old Town Grill, Apollo Pizza, and Amrit Cuisine of India. The board discussed strategies to enhance Restaurant Week and better support local businesses.
Corbin Tourism recently launched a TikTok account, which has already shown early growth. A recent video reached 1,000 views. The board is looking forward to seeing how the account grows.
The next Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission meeting is scheduled for Feb. 10.
