Porter County tourism is in a good place in 2024. At its sixth State of Tourism event at Riley’s Railhouse in Chesterton Thursday afternoon Indiana Dunes Tourism staff spoke of focusing its efforts beyond the beach.

Indiana Dunes Tourism’s Interim CEO/President Christine Livingston told the crowd that Indiana Dunes National Park had 4.6 million visitors last year, compared to 3.2 million in 2018. Those who stopped by the Visitors Center more than doubled in that same time frame to 226,000 last year.

Livingston told the crowd that when the Indiana Dunes went from national lakeshore designation to a national park the visiting crowds “went from beachgoers to park goers.” And the positive thing about parkgoers is that they like to stay in the region a little longer and explore the surrounding offerings.

That’s good news for the county’s more than 500 businesses. “We take the responsibility of supporting local businesses very seriously and it drives everything that we do,” Livingston said.

She told the story of the 160-acre Broken Wagon Bison Farm at 563 W. 450 North in Hobart that blossomed from occasionally selling meat out of a meat locker in a garage to offering tours twice a week, and selling the meat from a new gift shop that has space for classes, all following guidance from the Indiana Dunes Tourism staff.

Such relationships, both with privately-held businesses, and Porter County’s other sister venues the Memorial Opera House, the Porter County Museum, Porter County Parks, and the Porter County Expo Center, are a focus.

Livingston gave another example of the special attention her staff gives to small businesses.

She said the owner of the Schoolhouse Shop in Chesterton is vocal in his appreciation. “He really credits the staff at the Visitors Center for taking time to explain how to get to his shop,” she said.

Partnerships with other natural destinations such as Shirley Heinze Land Trust, Gabis Arboretum and Kankakee Sands, and other tourism entities like the South Shore Convention & Visitors Bureau and the South Shore Line are also being nurtured, Livingston pointed out. After 20 years in its building the Visitors Center is also planning for a refresh.

An update on the Indigenous Cultural Trail, a joint effort between the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Pakagon Band of Potawatomi, the National Park Service, and Indiana Dunes Tourism, showed the new bridge over Dunes Creek. Trail signs that include Potawatomi and Miami translations are beginning to be installed and a 6-to-8-foot diameter limestone turtle by Chicago sculptor Roman Villareal is expected to be ready this year.

“We’re trying to get the biggest rock possible. I won’t know (the final size) until I get started,” said the artist, who has works at The Art Institute in Chicago.

“We were warned it was going to be so hard to do, no one was going to get along,” Livingston said of the Indigenous Trail partnership. “It’s been the complete opposite of that.”

And for those who loved Ranger Matt in his Dunes 101 Series several years ago educating hundreds of thousands of viewers on such topics as “What are the Indiana Dunes?” and “Where are the Dunes Beaches?,” the series will continue in 2024.

Indiana Dunes Tourism’s Production Director Dustin Ritchea told the crowd his staff has been working with elected officials to identify 120 locales that will appear in a new series of 11 videos.

“You have to remember, tourism is the first date of economic development,” he pointed out.

And then there’s good, old-fashioned Facetime. Indiana Dunes Tourism Partnership Coordinator Julie Brown said she’s still running “business blitzes” 10 years after joining the staff. Be it email, phone calls, or personal visits her job is to ensure business owners understand what Indiana Dunes Tourism offers from free listings to website and guide ads, coupons, display cases and sponsorship opportunities.

“They don’t really understand what Indiana Dunes Tourism can do, and is doing, for them,” she said. When the visit is over she’s corrected that.

Rob Albrecht-Mallinger of the Northwest Indiana Paddle Association was visibly raising his fists in cheers throughout the presentation. “Indiana Dunes Tourism is the people who have the vision of what this region is capable of,” he said when it was over.

“Sometimes the things are right in front of you and somebody has to show you, and Indiana Dunes Tourism does that.”

Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.