Several travel writers to visit Jefferson City

Sarah Stroesser wants everyone to know what a great place Jefferson City is. With the help of four new visitors, that might happen.

Stroesser, communications director for Jefferson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, announced that four writers for various publications from both in and out of state are visiting the area through Tuesday to profile different interesting aspects of the city and surrounding area. The writers are: Sylvia Anderson with the St. Joseph News Press, Judith Joy with the Illinois Sentential, in Centralia, Ill., and freelancers Sylvia Forbes and Barb Ostmann.

Stroesser said the toughest part of the press tour for the writers has been whittling down the list of places.

"We have actually been working with the Binders Walker Group, a public relations firm," Stroesser said. "They've been working with a lot of these same travel writers ... and they said that putting together the itinerary for Jefferson City was a challenge just because there are so many options of things to do.

"But, I think we have put together a really great showcase of our capital city."

The itinerary for the writers include trips to the Katy Trail, Summit Lake Winery, the Missouri State Penitentiary, Madison's Cafe, O'Donoghues and Central Dairy, among other spots.

While this is not the first time travel writers have visited the area, Stroesser said, it is never a bad thing to have them visit.

"Non-paid advertising or editorials about Jefferson City is so valuable," Stroesser said. "We are all bombarded with advertising, and there is definitely a benefit to that. But having that very candid story written by a journalist who is telling you the truth is so valuable to getting people to see the real side of Jefferson City."

She went on to explain that when Tom Uhlenbrock, travel writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, did a front-page story on Jefferson City, her office saw immediate benefits from the article.

"That Monday, when we came into work, our phone lines were lit up the entire day because they had read that article," Stroesser said. "They are not all like that. Don't get me wrong. But that was a true testimony to the power of that news that is out there in front of people.

"We hope to get that kind of reaction with other stories."