Working Together to Strengthen Stark County Tourism

Stark County Partners | Free Partnership

Eligible tourism and hospitality businesses and organizations located within Stark County, including hotels and other accommodations, restaurants, attractions, museums, arts and cultural organizations, event venues, event organizers, festivals, sports organizations, retailers, caterers, and vendors, can access Visit Canton partner resources and opportunities at no cost. Lodging properties must be current on their Stark County lodging tax obligations.

Regional Partners | Paid Marketing Opportunities

Eligible tourism and hospitality businesses located outside Stark County, excluding lodging properties, may qualify as Regional Partners by purchasing approved advertising in the Visit Canton Travel Guide and/or sponsored content on VisitCanton.com.

Regional Partner status lasts for the duration of the approved advertising placement. Regional Partners may also qualify for website profiles, event listings, promotional passes, educational programs and networking opportunities, subject to Visit Canton's approval and applicable guidelines. Regional Partners are not eligible for Visit Canton grant funding.

Listing & Content Guidelines

Visit Canton's goal is to help visitors discover exciting things to do while visiting Stark County. Website listings are evaluated based on their relevance to visitors and their potential to attract day trips and overnight stays.

Visit Canton values ethical practices, diversity, equity and inclusion. We reserve the right to suspend or remove business and event listings that do not align with these values.

All submissions are subject to review and approval at Visit Canton's discretion. Visit Canton reserves the right to edit, decline or remove any listing at any time.

These guidelines are intended to provide general guidance. If you have questions about eligibility or a potential listing, contact our team. We're happy to help!

Visit Canton offers a variety of free tools and resources to help partners promote their businesses and connect with visitors.

• Website Listings: Help visitors discover your business or organization through a profile on VisitCanton.com.
• Event Promotion: Submit events for consideration on our online calendar and other promotional opportunities.
• Digital Passes & Promotions: Participate in select campaigns and programs that showcase local experiences.
• Education & Networking: Connect with industry professionals through workshops, educational programs and networking events.
• Industry Resources: Access tourism research, industry updates and helpful planning resources.
• Promotional Opportunities: Share news, photos, videos and special offers with our team for consideration.
• Volunteer Connections: Connect with Volunteer Stark and other community resources.
• Grant Opportunities: Explore competitive funding opportunities that support events, cultural programming and visitor experience

Visit Canton’s online Calendar of Events highlights experiences that encourage visitors to explore Stark County. All submissions are reviewed by Visit Canton and must meet the following guidelines.

Events may qualify for the VisitCanton.com Calendar of Events if they are:

• Prominent events open to the general public and actively marketed to audiences outside of the greater Stark County area
• Events showcasing a community’s unique character, history or heritage
• Performances, live music, theatre productions, and music festivals
• Exhibit openings and open houses of historic homes
• Holiday events that include activities of interest to visitors
• Ethnic festivals providing activities of interest to visitors
• Multi-day community festivals & county fairs that offer entertainment and activities that would interest a visitor
• Major and minor league sporting events, 5Ks, and Marathons (individual games or the season)

The following generally do not qualify for the VisitCanton.com Calendar of Events:

• Events that are NOT being held in Stark County that are not hosted by a regional partner
• Events that are your normal business model. These include and are not limited to daily repeating exhibits, daily or weekly deals, happy hour specials, seasonal deals, themed sales at a business that do not have an entertainment factor, speaker series, or celebration to kick off the sale, or open times of a business. All of the items mentioned can be and are encouraged to be listed in each partner profile's description.
• Events closed to any segment of the general public for any reason
• Fundraisers – these include basket raffles, reverse raffles, benefits, galas, golf outings or events that categorize themselves as a fundraiser in the main description without an entertainment element such as a full concert, taste of event, wine or beer tastings, etc.
• Student-Only events such as school or college events, home-school only, or student-only events
• Pageants such as beauty pageants, competition pageants
• Coloring contests, photo contests, pie-eating contests etc.
• Church or worship services
• Family or class reunions; church bazaars, picnics and special events
• Retail sales, craft shows and yard sales that are not associated with a special tourism event
• Multi-week classes, workshops, or summer camps
• Running or biking clubs that meet weekly or monthly
• Club meetings such as book clubs, social club meetings, neighborhood gatherings, ice cream socials, etc.
• Private or members‐only events
• Content promoting hostility or violence
• Sexually explicit events at adult entertainment venues
• Civic and community meetings, conferences and activities (Please reach out about the Industry Partner Calendar for these event listings)
• Virtual Events

Not sure if your event qualifies? Contact the Visit Canton team before submitting. We’re happy to help determine whether it’s a fit for the calendar.

All submissions are subject to review, and Visit Canton reserves the right to edit, decline or remove listings at its discretion.

Visit Canton creates editorial content for VisitCanton.com, social media and media outreach to share Stark County’s story, highlight local experiences and inspire visitors to explore the destination.

Content may feature local attractions, events, businesses and experiences that align with Visit Canton’s destination marketing efforts. When appropriate, editorial content may link to partner listing pages on VisitCanton.com.

All editorial and promotional content is developed at Visit Canton’s discretion by staff or guest contributors. Inclusion in editorial content or social media promotions is not guaranteed.

We want to see your best shots!

Have great photos or videos of your business, event or experience? Share them with Visit Canton to help showcase what makes Stark County a great destination.

Upload Photos & Videos Directly to Visit Canton

Please note that submitted content may be used in Visit Canton’s marketing and promotional efforts at our discretion.

Placer AI reports are available as a Visit Canton partner resource to help organizations evaluate visitor activity, demonstrate economic impact and support event planning, grant applications and reporting.

Report requests will be prioritized based on:

• Visit Canton Partner Package participation
• Enhanced event listings or advertising in the Visit Canton Travel Guide
• Recipients of Visit Canton grant funding
• Supporting documentation for funding requests for economic development projects that benefit the tourism and hospitality industry

Requests will be reviewed on an as-needed basis and fulfilled based on Visit Canton staff capacity, current workload and the availability of appropriate data. Reports are not guaranteed for every request, and Visit Canton may request additional information to determine the appropriate report parameters.

Visit Canton offers Frontline Training during designated weeks throughout the year, providing tourism and hospitality teams with opportunities to strengthen their knowledge of Stark County, local attractions and resources, and the visitor experience.

Requests will be prioritized based on:

• Visit Canton Partner Package participation
• Partners requesting speaking engagements or educational training with opportunities to reach multiple frontline staff or organizations

Frontline Training sessions are offered during designated training weeks throughout the year. Requests outside of those scheduled weeks will be considered on a case-by-case basis based on Visit Canton staff availability, current workload and programming priorities.

Visit Canton asks partners to follow the guidelines below when submitting photos or videos for marketing and promotional use:

I warrant and represent that the video and photos submitted are real and were not created by or heavily modified by artificial intelligence software in a manner that renders them non-representative of reality. I confirm I hold all necessary rights, licenses, and permissions for the images and that they are not subject to the copyright restrictions of AI-generated content.

Click here to view the full Visit Canton AI Quick Reference Sheet and the expectations we hold for both our team and partners.